Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The wines made from Bordeaux varietals begin with the 2007 Merlot Brookman which spent 18 months in 85% new French oak. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it exhibits a superb nose of toast, pencil lead, spice box, black currant, and blackberry. This leads to a medium to full-bodied wine with a supple texture, excellent grip, and complex, savory flavors. This lengthy effort will round out with an additional 3-4 years of cellaring.
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Wine Enthusiast
A rare example of really good Australian Merlot, this wine features a supple attack that gradually builds in tannic intensity into a softly dusty finish. Herbal overtones mingle with notes of cassis, mocha and leather.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.