Smith & Hooper Merlot 2007
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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.
While slightly warmer and with a landscape more rolling than its neighbor, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully has the same unique terra rossa soils.
This wind-blown, red clay and fertile loam, strewn on top of fossil-rich, penetrable, ancient limestone reefs, creates well-draining vineyards ideal for viticulture. The temperate Wrattonbully particularly excels in the production of red Bordeaux single varietal wines.