Geoff Merrill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Not many wineries can offer its fans wines that are almost a decade in age, at a price more than competitive with the very latest releases from its competitors, especially when the wine comes from one of the great vintages of this century. This is absolutely brilliant value. The wine spent more than two years in a mix of French and American oak hogsheads, 85% of which was new. The split is 53% Coonawarra fruit and 47% from McLaren Vale. An inky dark maroon hue, the nose offers chocolate, cassis, mocha, tobacco leaves, smoked meats, cloves, leather, coffee beans, blueberries, black fruits and some dried herbs. There is immaculate oak integration here with a supple texture, complexity and seamless structure. Juicy fruit flavours abound, and the wine has excellent balance and serious length. There are fine tannins, and the wine is still fresh and with good energy. It will still provide excellent drinking over the next six to ten years.