Divine Magazine - “Merlot Mayhem”

Royal Automobile Club, Sydney
Tasted Wednesday, May 25, 2005 by CamWheeler with 977 views

Flight 1 - Under $20 AUD (7 Notes)

  • 2002 Garlands Merlot 86 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River

    Good fruit purity with a touch of oak supporting. Some soft tannins evident. Held back by a lack of complexity and varietal characters.

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  • 2003 Mitchelton Merlot Preece 84 Points

    Australia, Victoria

    Pleasant aroma profile and some decent structure. No real excitement value though.

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  • 2004 Irvine Merlot Springhill 82 Points

    Australia, South Australia

    Blackcurrant and plummy fruits on the nose and palate. To be consumed soon before the fruit fades and nothing is left.

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  • 2003 Ferngrove Merlot 80 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River

    A bit of vanillin oak but not a whole lot else.

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  • 2001 Pepper Tree Merlot 79 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Wrattonbully

    Simply too sweet which bottle age has not mellowed.

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  • 2002 Moondah Brook Merlot 78 Points

    Australia, Western Australia

    A distinct lack of complexity. Overtly sweet with a abrupt finish.

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  • 2003 Nobilo Merlot 76 Points

    New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

    Very light in colour. Bland and watery.

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Flight 2 - $20 - $35 AUD (31 Notes)

Flight 3 - Over $35 AUD (12 Notes)

  • 2000 Tatachilla Merlot 91 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon

    Good structure and balance. Earthy tones on the palate. Drink now.

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  • 1998 Pepper Tree Merlot Grand Reserve 92 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

    Fantastically complex, dense palate. Seamless integration of oak. Seems to be at, or nearing its peak, drink soon.

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  • 2001 Henschke Abbotts Prayer 93 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Lenswood

    Well structured and shows some excellent varietal Merlot characteristics. Good length. This is still developing and will get better with some age.

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  • 2002 Capel Vale Merlot Howecroft 90 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Geographe

    I’ve written down “Very well liked”. Not a big palate, but a satisfying one. Plenty of spice to keep things interesting.

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  • 2001 Petaluma Merlot Coonawarra 91 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

    Quite a savoury palate. Good Merlot characteristics. Tannins are currently a bit astringent, but I suspect they may soften with time.

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  • 2001 Hollick Merlot Neilson's Block 90 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

    A good balance between fruit and oak but lacks the “wow” factor.

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  • 2001 Plantagenet Merlot Rocky Horror 89 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Mount Barker

    Good length. Quite full bodied compared to some of the others in this group.

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  • 2000 Pepper Tree Merlot Grand Reserve 85 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

    Heavy use of oak dominating this wine. Shows poorly against the rest of this class.

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  • 2001 Woodside Valley Estate Merlot 87 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    An interesting nose but somewhat more subdued on the palate. Noticed a touch of green on the finish.

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  • 2002 Haan Merlot Prestige 87 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Good, easy drinking wine, but outclassed by the surrounding bottles. Would have expected more for the price.

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  • 2003 Howard Park Merlot 87 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    Good fruit purity, but lacking some balance. I don’t think this will age too well.

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  • 2001 Parker Coonawarra Estate Merlot Terra Rossa 84 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

    Too much oak and a strong dash of VA on the nose.

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Closing

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Australian Merlot is at a crossroads. There are too many producers that are either producing middle of the road wines or wines that suffer from too much oak or too much sweetness. At the price points that these wines are at, they really need to be doing better. Considering that for $15 you will find a decent Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon, the anti-Merlot brigade may actually have a point. A couple of wines did impress, but in a tasting of over 50 of our major producers of a varietal Merlot, and with a fair number of wines in the premium range of $30+ one would expect to have a better strike rate than I did tonight.

I haven’t given up on Australian Merlot, there are surely some gems out there, the trouble is picking out the good from the bad.

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