Fox Creek Reserve Merlot 2001 - McLaren Vale South Australia $39.99
(this was the only wine that had been decanted) Brick red with a very dusty, musty nose, a little reminiscent of Grenache. Prunes and plums in the mouth first with warm spices, nutmeg, mace & cinnamon, this is a well structured wine (It's got Cab Sav in it for sure) with a terrific lingering finish. I Rated it number 1 (Jodie 2)
Paul Osika Merlot 2002 - Heathcote Victoria $22.99
This was cherry red with a whiff of Burgundy pong (I would have picked this as a Pinot if I didn't know it was a Merlot tasting
) Some cinnamon & yeast also evident on the nose. It was quite brambly with mouth filling
black fruit flavours, followed by some stalky charachters and it was quite
tightly structured (bet there was some Heathcote Shiraz in there too)
Kies Family Monkey Nut Tree Merlot 2002 - Barossa Valley South Australia $26.50
Cherry red with lots of sweet raspberries & bun spices on the nose, it
followed through with good fruit on the palate but lacked length and was the simplest wine of the night. A good quaffer but suffered a little in
comparison to the other wines.
Richard Hamilton Lot 148 Merlot 2002 - McLaren Vale South Australia $21.99
Brick red with cherries and strawberries on the nose and some underlying
warm spices. Terrific in the mouth with great red fruit, excellent balance
and lingering finish. I rated it number 2
Shaw & Smith Merlot 2002 - Adelaide Hills South Australia $22.95
Brick red with great nose of blackcurrant jam & plums. Good firm fruit
follows with good tannins and good acid, long full finish. (I'm drinking a
bottle of this as I type these notes) This wine was the only one in the
tasting that is ready to drink nowish. I rated it number 3 (Jodie 3)
Punt Road Merlot 2003 - Yarra Valley Victoria $24.99
Purple hue with a subdued nose & very little to distinguish it. This
followed through on the palate, so, while fairly well balanced, it lacked
punch and was out of its league with the other wines on show.
Knights Granite Hills Merlot 2003 - Macedon Victoria $22.99
Brick red (again) with heaps of bakers spice's on the nose. Fairly
nondescript in the mouth with aggressive tannins, it tasted too out of
balance for me.
Capricorn Malbec Merlot 2002 - Hawkes Bay New Zealand $24.95
Intense deep red colour with a nose redolent of blackberries & licorice.
Lots of black fruit in the mouth, blueberries and violets. Excellent
structure with a lingering finish. I rated it number 4 (Jodie 1)
All of these wines were high quality and all need at least a little longer
before drinking, in the case of the Osika at least 4 or 5 years to reach
it's peak. The tasting was at Randalls in Albert Park. The Richard Hamilton was the pick of the bunch with QPR factored in.
Cheers Andrew