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- Variety Merlot
- Vintage 1992
- Brand James Irvine
- Cellaring 15 Plus Years
- Wine Type Red
- Alcohol Percentage 15.0% Alcohol
James Irvine Grand Merlot 1992"The Grand Merlot was previously judged World’s Best Merlot in Switzerland, ag..."$100.00 -
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James Halliday90 points
- Variety Merlot
- Vintage 1996
- Brand James Irvine
- Cellaring 15 Plus Years
- Wine Type Red
- Alcohol Percentage 15.0% Alcohol
James Irvine Grand Merlot 1996"The Grand Merlot was previously judged World’s Best Merlot in Switzerland, ag..."$100.00 -
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James Halliday94 points
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Jancis Robinson16.5 points
- Variety Merlot
- Vintage 2015
- Brand Merite
- Cellaring 15 Plus Years
- Wine Type Red
- Alcohol Percentage 14.0% Alcohol
Merite Ultra Merlot 2015"Vinification: Picking date determined by berry sensory analysis. Hand-picked ..."$130.00 -
Merlot in Australia is not a variety you will often see unblended, until recently. It is most often used to add suppleness and mid-palate to Cabernet’s stern, serious structure. In Australia, Merlot is now achieving considerable recognition as a varietal wine. Merlot blended wines are available from the warmer inland regions, such as Riverina, Riverland and Murray Darling. Single varietal Merlot from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale produces a softer dry plummy wine. Whereas the cooler climates such as the Yarra Valley and Margaret River tends to take on more savoury characters with firmer tannins.
It is the most widely planted grape in Bordeaux, France where planting has rapidly expanded throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils, is relatively simple to cultivate and is a naturally high yielding. In St Emilion and Pomerol, it withstands the moist clay-rich soils far better than Cabernet, producing opulently rich, plummy wines. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of some of the best (and most expensive) Merlot based wines.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in New Zealand, California, Chile and Northern Italy. New Zealand's Hawkes Bay is producing outstanding Merlot-based blends, especially from the Gimblett Gravels.