Craneford Merlot 2002
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Robert
Parker
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- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In mid 2006, Carol Riebke was appointed as winemaker with John Glaetzer overseeing. John is a winner of four Jimmy Watson Trophy's during his extensive career as chief red wine maker at Wolf Blass Wines. As a team, Carol and John ensure that premium quality wine making remains the focus at Craneford Wines.
Fruit parcels from our growers are independently processed during the winemaking process. This maintains the unique character of each vineyard. Final blends are made only after the wines have been individually tasted and analysed to ensure that they show classic Barossa Valley flavours as well as being complex and well balanced. Craneford’s aim is to continually produce the highest quality wine from the best Barossa Valley fruit available.
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.
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.