Penny's Hill Malpas Road McLaren Vale Merlot 2019 (Australia)

Penny's Hill Malpas Road McLaren Vale Merlot 2019 (Australia)French oak Dark cherry Fruit spice Soft, round tannins "Wonderfully ripe and inviting with blackcurrant, sweet cherry, clove and cedar notes with a hint of dried herb complexity. Its succulent and beautifully rounded on the palate offering terrific fruit intensity backed by polished tannins, finishing long and satisfying. At its best: now to 2031" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jun 2021 A fragrant bouquet of dark cherry and blue fruits with subtle notes of

• French oak
• Dark cherry
• Fruit spice
• Soft, round tannins

"Wonderfully ripe and inviting with blackcurrant, sweet cherry, clove and cedar notes with a hint of dried herb complexity. It’s succulent and beautifully rounded on the palate offering terrific fruit intensity backed by polished tannins, finishing long and satisfying. At its best: now to 2031" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jun 2021

A fragrant bouquet of dark cherry and blue fruits with subtle notes of anise, fruit spice and savoury characters. This wine shows great fruit weight and generosity, abundant with plush dark fruits and perfectly balanced by soft, round tannins and a long-lasting finish. Ready to drink, but will cellar for 5 years.

Grown on the Black Bay of Biscay soils of Malpas Road vineyard, Penny's Hill 'Malpa Road' Merlot is a wine of great subtlety, supple tannins and a rich, smooth, dark fruit palate.

Planted in 1991 and added to the Penny’s Hill estate vineyard group in 1993, Malpas Road is named after the pioneering Malpas family who held lands in the district originally referred to as ‘Bay of Biscay’, an obvious reference to the relatively infertile cracking, grey-black soil upon which our hand-tended four acre Merlot patch does its work. The fissures which occur as the black soil cracks apart sever surplus root growth, a process which naturally lessens vigour and enhances ultimate grape quality. Vines are planted on their own roots with D3V14 clone.

Destemmed then crushed, this single parcel of Merlot grapes was open fermented on skins for 7 days prior to pressing. Secondary fermentation was completed in a combination of 1 to 5 year old French oak barrels and wine was matured for 18 months prior to blending. This wine was bottled in November 2020.