In just a few short decades, the Taylor family have etched out a formidable reputation for producing high quality wine from their Clare Valley vineyards. This textbook Merlot captures the varietal characters of berries, fruitcake and velvety tannins. The judicious use of French and American oak adds mocha and vanilla softens and rounds the palate.

Ripe and generous, the leafy, minty characters of Cabernet are complemented by the softness and plummy fruit coming from the Merlot. A nice touch of sweet oak completes the picture.

This De Bortoli Cabernet Merlot blend combines rich, dark berry from the Cabernet's flavour with soft, plumy Merlot. An ideal accompaniment to pasta, veal or pork.

The gravelly soils and sunny climate of Hawkes Bay are producing some of New Zealand's most exciting reds. This classy Merlot from Oyster Bay shows soft spicy varietal flavours such as, juicy plums and ripe dark fruits. Accompanied by well intergraded oak and subtle tannins, making this wine one of the easier matching to food.

Audrey Wilkinsons Merlot is a mellow, easy approaching style that is packed with ripe plum aromas and subtle oak. It is matured in French and American oak for 18 months, giving the wine soft tannins and a flavoursome finish.

This WA winery continues to impress with its well-crafted value for money wines. This Cabernet blend has ripe berry fruit characters enhanced by toasty oak and balanced with fine-grained tannins.

Yellow Tail Merlot is soft and supple, with sweet, plum and cherry flavours and a hint of liquorice or anise. Merlot is an excellent alternative to the heavier and more tannic red varieties.

From a 37-acre vineyard, Château Pavie Macquin is stunningly situated on the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion on the right bank of Bordeaux. 2010 has produced a formidable wine: a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a top release of the harvest year and a highlight from St-Émillion in 2010. Tannins, restraint and inward concentration are motifs, this is a wine for the patient, sophisticated collector who wishes to embellish a cellar with pedigree wines that need time and maturity to come to the fore.

Woodlands Cabernet Merlot is one of the regions best examples. The Watson brothers are the custodians of a family heritage in Margaret River that continues to this day. The Cabernet Merlot has attractive and complex aromas of dark berry and plum supported by well integrated vanillin oak. The palate shows similar characters with outstanding length of flavour and perfect balance. Drink now or cellar short term.

Howard Park are Western Australia's largest family-owned winery whose reputation is unsurpassed. Their Madfish range of wines continue to provide great value-for-money while still offering that Western Australian quality we've all come to enjoy. The Cabernet Merlot has a luscious smooth ripe flavour profile without being sweet with regional notes of black olives and eucalypt.