Church Road 1 Single Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2021

Description

Chocolate, Oak, Spice

"A terrific expression of the variety, showing Black Doris plum, blackcurrant, olive and warm spice aromas with a floral overtone. The palate delivers excellent weight and fleshy texture, gorgeously framed by refined tannins. It’s plump and flavoursome with supreme balanced and persistency. From the Bridge Pa Triangle district. At its best: 2025 to 2036" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2023

"Silken-textured wine with ripe plum, dark berry, vanilla and spicy oak flavours. Nicely integrated wine that is well balanced with a core of fruit sweetness and ripe, drying tannins. Deliciously accessible now but will develop with careful bottle age" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jan 2024

"A bold and expressive bouquet of roasted plums and black cherry, chocolate and five-spice, new leather and barrel smoke. Weighty and dry, inky rich dark fruit flavours invade the palate first, they are concentrated and quite intense. Flavours of roasted dark fruits of plum and black cherry return along with chocolate and spice. Tannins are polished, smooth, connected and in abundance. Acidity holds all the attributes together. I do not the warming effects of the alcohol yet the concentration of fruit and shear power of this wine manages this rather well. Dry and lengthy, the tannins leave a coating on the palate that I expect will dissolve into the wine given time. Best drinking from 2026 through 2036" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2023

A core of rich plum and dark berry fruit with subtle lifted floral notes and complexities of dark chocolate that bring a sense of warmth and luxuriousness. Full bodied with good mid palate richness, and chunky, ripe tannins with a slight rustic edge.

The same grape variety grown in different sites in the same region or sub region, can demonstrate uniquely different characteristics related to those individual sites. Even if the grapes are grown by the same people, with the same care and attention, changes in soil, slope, altitude and shelter can subtly or dramatically alter the resulting wine, even over distances of a few hundred metres or less. Church Road One is a range of single vineyard wines that typify the character and personality of their best winegrowing sites.

Food Pairing: Well matched to a range of meat and game and robust vegetarian dishes. Particularly well suited to grilled meats which will pair beautifully with the firm, fine tannin.