Silkwood Estate The Bowers Pemberton Merlot 2020
- 92
- $30
- Drink by: 2025-2030
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We don’t see a lot of 100% Merlot about, let alone a Merlot that is five years old. Congrats to the Silkwood team on this release, it has carried bottle age well. A savoury, aged character of smoked meats mixes easily with earth, plum, dark cherry and dried herbs. The lift provided by the grape’s signature floral – rose petal – is a lovely touch. Nice flow of fruit and aged characters – a mix of smoked meats – works well on the palate which is edged in sage, anise, dusty cacao and earthy tones. There’s a brightness here with acidity that is almost crunchy, which again belies its age. A touch of cranberry on the finish is a super clean way to finish this well-made Merlot.
Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.
