2017 by Merrill Saint Nic Shiraz Cabernet

The Story: The new ‘by Merrill’ range features five new wines including a Riesling, Chardonnay, Dry Rosé, Grenache and Shiraz Cabernet that are designed for immediate consumption. The key objective for the ‘by Merrill’ range is to engage with the next generation of wine consumers who want to have fun while drinking great wines. With younger and fresher wine styles combined with some terrific new modern packaging, ‘by Merrill’ is strategically aimed at introducing the Geoff Merrill brand to a whole new segment of the wine consuming market. 

Winemakers Notes: A dark red with good depth and youthful hues. Bright licorice, mulberry and black cherry come forward, with tomato leaf, herbs and violets finish off this highly aromatic red blend.

The cool vintage condition in 2017 has produced a fine tannin structure, length and cleansing acidity in this wine. Red berry flavours are well in place amongst the grippy texture on the mid palate. The wine begins to soften and open up revealing a lovely rounded, supple and generous mouthfeel that will only get better with time.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with BBQ lamb skewers, fat Italian sausages, sautéed mushroom with garlic and parmesan, Angus beef burger, sticky pork ribs.

Winemakers: Geoff Merrill & Scott Heidrich

Variety: Shiraz 85% / Cabernet Sauvignon 15%

Oak Treatment: 18 months in seasoned American and French oak hogsheads.

Region: McLaren Vale 85% / Langhorne Creek 15%

Harvest Date: March / April 2017

Alc: 14.5%, pH: 3.33, TA: 5.9 g/L, RS: 0.6 g/L