Geoff Merrill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

This is very good buying. Warm climate Cabernet just shouldn’t be this thrilling, although Coonawarra does play a significant role. The team undertake a thorough blind tasting of their best barrels of Cabernet from both Coonawarra and McLaren Vale for selection for this wine. The final blend for this vintage was 56% Coonawarra and 44% McLaren Vale. The wine then spent 30 months in a mix of new French and American oak hogsheads. At this price, it is definitely worth buying some. Opaque maroon in colour, this is bold, balanced, focused and offering excellent length. The aromas weave through notes of chocolate, cassis, blackberries, flesh, mocha and cigar box hints. There is plenty of oak, but it is well integrated. On the persistent finish, we have sleek tannins. The palate does see the emergence of notes of warm earth and aniseed. No reason why this wine doesn’t have another ten or twelve years ahead of it.