2016 Geoff Merrill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 6 Pack

96 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Not many wineries can offer its fans wines that are almost a decade in age, at a price more than competitive with the very latest releases from its competitors, especially when the wine comes from one of the great vintages of this century. This is absolutely brilliant value. The wine spent more than two years in a mix of French and American oak hogsheads, 85% of which was new. The split is 53% Coonawarra fruit and 47% from McLaren Vale. An inky dark maroon hue, the nose offers chocolate, cassis, mocha, tobacco leaves, smoked meats, cloves, leather, coffee beans, blueberries, black fruits and some dried herbs. There is immaculate oak integration here with a supple texture, complexity and seamless structure. Juicy fruit flavours abound, and the wine has excellent balance and serious length. There are fine tannins, and the wine is still fresh and with good energy. It will still provide excellent drinking over the next six to ten years.

95 POINTS

Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

Rich and complex, the enticing bouquet shows cassis, tobacco, clove, rich floral, and cedar characters with a hint of cocoa. The concentrated palate delivers excellent weight and depth, wonderfully complemented by fleshy texture and chalky tannins, making it sturdy and structured with a persistent, satisfying finish. A blend of grapes from Coonawarra & McLaren Vale.

95 POINTS

Ray Jordan - Winepilot

This is a blend of 53% Coonawarra and 47% McLaren Vale. The striking thing about this wine is that it gets 32 months in American and French oak, and yet you’d hardly call it excessively oaky. It’s finely balanced, with that thread of linear Cabernet displaying a lift of blackcurrant and olive, while the richer, plush blackberry and plummy notes of McLaren Vale fill out the palate. It has the potential for extended ageing, but as it’s already 9 years old, it is starting to drink well. It has such a supple, balanced palate feel. An excellent wine.

94 POINTS

James Halliday - Halliday Wine Companion

A regional blend from 53/47% Coonawarra/McLaren Vale, selected by a dual process starting one year after vintage to select wines that justify further cellaring. Matured 32 months in American and French oak (80% new). The American oak is of high quality, and takes command. Merrill says 'The wine represents the best cabernet we have in our cellar,' and there's no doubt that a la Penfolds Bin 707, it's a compelling wine.