Recognition

A blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc, which is standard fare for Bordeaux but an outlier blend in South Australia. 470 dozen produced. Spends 18 months in 50% new and 50% single-use oak, which has a lot of …

Merlot (55%) and Cabernet Franc (45%) blend with fruit grown on the 37 million year old soils of the 45 year old Tapanappa Whalebone vineyard. Bottled under cork. 2019 was warm and dry and only recevied 72% of ‘normal’ growing …

Medium depth of ruby to brick-red hue, the bouquet scented with pot-pourri and sandalwood, a hint of tapenade or olive paste, while the palate is full bodied and quite firm, with lashings of grippy tannins that would appreciate hearty protein …

The nose is complex and intriguing, more secondary than primary, showing hints of tobacco leaf. A very finely structured, lengthy, savoury palate sets the seal on the excellence of this wine. If you love the wines of Bordeaux, you’ll understand.  …

Everything about this wine suggests it is one for the long haul. Both the Merlot and Cabernet Franc come from the Whalebone Vineyard. The blend is 55% Merlot and 45% Cab Franc with blending only just before a seventeen month …

This is a stunning Australian nod to the wines of St Emilion on Bordeaux’s right bank, a compelling blend of two red grape varieties that often take a back seat but shine here with waves of flavours gently cascading onto …

Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard (Wrattonbully) Merlot Cabernet Franc, 2019, $90.

This is about as fashionable as merlot gets, however, just because you have money, doesn’t mean you have taste, in which case buy this to cover it up. Scrumptious red wine …

Absolutely brilliant. A captivating and detailed wine with veneers of interest peeling back with ease, give this Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Merlot Cabernet Franc some time and you’ll be rewarded. Three days of tasting certainly highlighted that.

From the last hot …

Question: do you plan to drink this Wrattonbully red soon? If yes, then some advice. It needs air – a lot of swishing of air in the glass or, better still, a decant – and then watch it open. While …

This broody and densely packed 2019 Merlot Cabernet Franc is exceptional and offers up muscular aromas of meat stock, blackberry and graphite with a strong backbone of new French oak. That density continues on the palate with a firm tannic …

Blend of merlot and cabernet franc. Some wines just put you at ease, from the outset. The volume of fruit here matched to the sure swagger of tannin speaks in no uncertain terms of the quality on offer. This is …

Blackcurrant, redcurrant, hazelnut and chocolate (praline), a fair amount of mint, sage and bay leaf adds perfume, along with some spice and cedar oak. It also has a dusty amaro-like quality, which I like. Medium to full-bodied, dusty and peppery, …

Deep red ruby with a finely woven and complex nose of violets, orange zest, macerated strawberry and dried cherry tomato, black fruits, fig leaf, mint tea, savoury undergrowth, tobacco, cedar and crushed gravel minerality.

In the mouth it’s juicy, but …

This is a 55% merlot and 45% cabernet franc blend made in a similar way to the cabernet shiraz. The colour is low intensity with bright crimson purple hues. The aroma shows superb black fruits, and dark plum with a