Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Merlot 2019

Merlot may not have the overwhelming popularity it did some years ago but it still has many fans. This one was handpicked into small, open fermenters, hand-plunged three times a day before ten days on skins. Then to closed fermenters and pumped over thrice daily. Multiple yeasts were used before racking to French oak barriques for 28 months, 14% new. There is a dollop – 7% – Cabernet Franc. Purples and reds here, with a nose of a chalk sitting under plums, fruitcake, blueberries and mulberries. It still seems a touch raw, but it is heading in the right direction with good tannins and juicy acidity. This is a wine with a solid future and indeed, it would be all the better after a year or two in the cellar. A good example of Margaret River Merlot.