Curator Marananga Vineyard Barossa Valley Cabernet 2017

I'm gonna ruffle a few feathers here with this one and go MERLOT!!! Mer-what? I know, I know, merlot hasn't got the best of reputations these days but honest to god there are some crackers out there! Often massed produced and definitely overdone in California at least it has grown out of popularity somewhat. WELL, prepare to have your mind changed in a matter of mls!! 

This stew is packed with earthy flavours filled with mushrooms, turnips and carrots. Tomato paste helps to add more body and those delicious herby dumplings on top make it a complete dish. Hungry yet?

Soft, buttery stew in a bath of Shiraz. Sure to chase the deepest winter chill out the door.

Just 60km northeast of Adelaide, the Barossa Valley is one of Australia's oldest wine regions. Warm and dry, it is renowned for producing the distinctive Barossa Shiraz, a full-bodied red with notes of chocolate and spice. The valleys and sloping hills create several temperature ranges. But in summer, take it from us: it's just plain hot.

The soils range from clay and loam in the cooler areas to the classically South Australian sand and red-brown loam in the valleys. Irrigation is often required, but with water supply an increasing problem, many growers are practicing dryland farming, relying on what falls from the sky and clings from night fog. Couple this with the number of very old vines in the region (which produce limited quantities of grapes), and the result is fruit with deeply concentrated flavour which quickly ripen. A great foundation for some of the world's most acclaimed reds.

History

Cabernet Sauvignon is unmistakably one of the world's most recognised red wine varieties. It is produced in most major wine growing regions across the world, from the banks of the Gironde in France to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, to the valleys of California where it overtook the Zinfandel variety on it's rise to glory. Since the late 1800s Australia has definitely proven itself in the world of the humble 'Cab Sauv'. Speaking locally, I turn the page on my desk copy of Halliday's 'Wine Atlas of Australia & New Zealand', to read: 'Whichever yardstick one adopts, Coonawarra produces most of Australia's great Cabernet Sauvignon.'

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