This medium-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend from Jacob's Creek offers dark berry and chocolate flavours, with hints of spicy and soft vanillin oak.

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.

Primo Estate's Joseph Moda is widely acclaimed as one of Australia's greatest Cabernets, and has been so since its inception in 1987. To create this exceptionally concentrated McLaren Vale red, Joe Grilli combines traditional Italian winemaking techniques with his 'Aussie know how' by air-drying the best fruit available to the winery on shaded outdoor racks for two weeks prior to crushing. The 'Moda', or method, is usually associated with Amarone style wines from Italy, but is put to superb use here by the team at Primo to create a brooding, opulent wine. After this intensive process, the wine is then aged in French and American oak for 20 months to further enhance the wine's complexity, flavour and effortless length.

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.

A pioneer of Merlot, James Irvine has produced an attractive plump style with leafy plum and mulberry flavours. The perfect match with crown of lamb.

Merlot is the perfect varietal for those who like their red wines on the smooth side. Soft, velvety and plush with fruit characters of plum, blueberry and blackcurrant, Hardy's have produced a wonderful easy drinking red wine with the added bonus of being bottled in a larger 1L bottle adding great value.

A fresh contemporary style of Merlot from Jacob's Creek produces a luscious medium bodied wine that has ripe plum and berry fruit flavours in harmony with soft grape and oak tannins giving length and texture.

Yalumba Y Series Merlot is soft and supple, with sweet, ripe fruit flavours and a hint of liquorice or anise. Merlot is an excellent alternative to the heavier and more tannic red varieties.

Wolf Blass continues to produce brilliant quality wines at unbeatable prices and the Red Label Cabernet Merlot is the perfect example. The wine has bright berry and plum fruit aromas supported by subtle nutty oak. The palate displays a juicy fruit finish with approachable fine tannins and its best enjoyed young and fresh with hearty red meat dishes.

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.