Geoff Merrill Reserve Shiraz 2017 6 Pack

97 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Like many of the wines in the Merrill stable this is very good value. A barrel selection, the winners are blended and returned to a mix of new and older American oak. Dark maroon with a blood red rim, this is big and ripe and rich. Oozing aromas of chocolate, coffee beans, cassis, plums, cocoa beans and mocha, the wine is seamless, soft and seductive. There is great length here through to its silky tannins with everything immaculately balanced throughout. It still has another ten to fifteen years ahead of it. Love it.

96 POINTS

Ray Jordan - Winepilot

Merrill is in a fortunate position to be able to hold back quite a few of his reserve wines. And so here’s a ten-year-old Shiraz that really is starting to move into its drinking zone, albeit with many years ahead of it. There’s just the faintest hint of wet leather on the nose that balances with the plummy, dark chocolatey fruit characters. Palate is rich with a cedary influence and plenty of deep, lingering fruit power supported by ample oak. It’s a wine that really captures much about McLaren Vale and, to that extent, the Merrill style. A complete, well-rounded, and poised Shiraz.

95 POINTS

Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

This is opulent with refinement and complexity. The enticing bouquet shows dark-fruit intensity, cake spice, tapenade, and toasty oak aromas with a hint of dark cocoa. The concentrated palate delivers excellent depth and power, beautifully complemented by plush texture and finely woven tannins, and finishes impressively long and sumptuous.

91 POINTS

Marcus Ellis - Halliday Wine Companion

A barrel selection made mid-maturation, with those selected matured a total of 30 months in French and American oak. A reserve wine by name and overt style, with lashings of chocolatey oak, coffee grounds, clove and vanilla, substantial dark fruits swelling beneath, the accents anise and struck iron.