While almost all Australian Merlot in the bottle is made from one clone, now Australia has better French clones of Merlot. This wine is made from one of them (Q45) by Australias new clone Merlot pioneers. MÉRITEs 2016 Q Merlot is made to showcase the attributes of this new clone: its a bold wine with intense fruit flavours, bright natural acidity and fine tannins

While almost all Australian Merlot in the bottle is made from one clone, this wine is made from a parcel of clones that are new to Australia. MERITE Merlot is a multi-clone blend that is built to showcase the qualities of these newer clones such as fine tannins and vibrancy. This wine aims to be a new benchmark for the variety in Australia. Sealed Under Cork

A Merlot pressings wine that is the ultimate selection from the 2015 vintage. Pressings from each clonal batch were blended with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon from the best barrel in the room. This selection process was based purely on merit and determined that a very limited number of bottles were made (745). A special limited production wine that will reward those committed to carefully cellaring it.

A purposely early harvest to highlight a fresh red fruit spectrum, naturally lower alcohol, wild ferments, and the use of larger oak for maturation are just some of the techniques employed to make these beautiful food friendly wines.

John Riddoch's first vintage of Coonawarra Claret (1890) was a shiraz-dominant wine. As the region's first wine grower he envisaged that Coonawarra would become one of Australia's finest wine regions. The 2021 Riddoch The Winegrower Shiraz has frangrant blackberry anise aromas, supple tannins and complex graphite tones define the stylish Coonawarra Shiraz. Matured in new and seasoned French and American oak barrels. Drink now or will reward careful cellaring for up to 10 years.

Our Two Blocks Shiraz was matured in a combination of new American & second use French oak for 24 months. This gives the wine structure, complexity and a lift of chocolate oak flavour. The finish is smooth and lingering. Cellar for another 5-10 years to see the wine soften and develop further complexity. Winemaker’S Note: 2017 was a great year for both freshness of fruit and balance of spice and elegant tannins. This Shiraz is a great example of our cool climate style, being approachable and elegant with just a touch of oak. Vintage Note: A cool growing season and above average rainfall lead to a mild growing season that presented some challenges towards the end of harvest. Fortunately the rain cleared enough for the Shiraz to ripen and be picked just in time. It was the stand out variety of the season with the balance of spice and ripeness returning to a more traditional style cool climate wine.

A great example of Coonawarra Shiraz showing raspberry and mulberry fruit characters and nuances of black pepper found only in wines created from old vines. Time in bottle will see even more complexity develop, with an increase in cedar and savoury characters.

This Shiraz delivers bold dark-fruits along with rich red-berry concentrates. Touches of subtle oak and pepper complete the palate, supported by a fine tannin structure.