Tasting Notes Aroma Intensely complex, dark blackberry and plums are integrated with fresh redcurrant and hints of rhubarb. Delicate savoury oak is seamlessly integrated with notes of dark chocolate and roasted spices with hints of dried herbs and fresh vanilla. Palate Full bodied, rich and balanced fruits of blackcurrant, boysenberry and redcurrants. Complex and luscious with layers of black fruit, chocolate and fresh spice. Balanced acidity with great structural tannins provide length, weight and roundness while displaying finesse and poise. A concentrated beauty that will age gracefully for the next 10-20 years.

"A smart blend" (Halliday) with Golds, Platinum and 94-96pt scores. From the very gifted winemaker Elena Brooks. "Flavours skip through sour plum, wild raspberry, blackberry pastille, soft licorice, ground ginger, dark rye, mace and a certain tarriness, measured but robust tannins closing out. It’s a smart blend, pulpy, chewy, multi-layered and bursting with flavour. 95pts” (Marcus Ellis, The Halliday Wine Companion). "Rich and intense on the palate with loads of blue fruits and dark earth minerality... it rolls long and weighty with supple tannins ensuring the drive is clear, focused and very long. 95pts” Stuart Knox, The Real Review). Ken Gargett, WinePilot adds that it is "Stunning stuff... A silky palate, very long and seamless with soft and sleek tannins. An enticing style which is utterly delicious. 96pts".

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This is a smart wine. It feels very harmonious, there's fruit intensity but it's not *too* fruity, there's present oak but it's not *too* overpowering, there's spice and tannin but they're not *too* drying. Everything has been worked into this classy number in thoughtful moderation and the result is a wine greater than the sum of its parts. From the well known, hand-tended, vineyards of the Willunga sub-region of McLaren Vale, picked in the (widely lorded) year of 2021 - it's safe to say we were holding this one to a pretty high standard. Well, this wine exceeded even our lofty expectations. Juicy dark mulberry and black cherry, vibrant spiced plum and chocolate characters are expressed with both intensity and complexity. Subtle, but ever present, oak characters manifest themselves in slight chocolate and vanilla notes along with fine grained tannins and build to a silky, spice driven finish. Happy to sit in the cellar for 15+ years, but why delay happiness right?

Two words come to mind when you mention great Australian Merlot. Jim Irivne. Jim's Grand Merlot is the benchmark of complex and elegant Merlot in Australia and his Eden Valley vineyards are the perfect place to produce this iconic wine.

With one of the longest and most pedigreed histories in the Medoc region, Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases has passed through the hands of some of Frances most notable and wealthiest noble families, culminating in the Las Cases family - the final royal family to hold title to the Chateau. Up until the French Revolution, after which large portions of it were sold off, it was one of the largest vineyards in Bordeaux. Today, the estate remains family owned by the Delons, of which brother Jean Hubert and sister Genevieve manage proceedings. Their second wine, Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases, is a relative newcomer, only having been released for the first time in 2009. The 2016 vintage has been praised for its traditional style and light, nimble palate.

In the glass: Medium to deep red black. On the nose: Full of bright red cherry with hints of red olive and fine oak spice. On the palate: Quite a jubey and appealing red fruit core giving long and silken flavours that are generous and classy. Fine oak gives subtle support throughout. Lovely now yet with good mid-term potential.

Geoff Merrill Henley Shiraz shows a deep brick red colour lined by cherry red hues. A whiff of the wine reveals generous scents of berry fruits and toasty French oak. Ripe fruit flavours combine with fine and powerful tannins on the full flavoured palate, to provide an elegant structure. This delightful Shiraz ends in a captivating finale. It tastes marvellous with lamb shanks in a red wine jus, chocolate-dipped honeycomb, and sharp Cheddar cheese.