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Greg Melick embarked on the prodigal road to gambling and booze as a mere teenager, after winning the daily double at Werribee and spending the lot on good red wine. He ultimately returned to the straight and narrow, achieving the rank of ADF Major General, Senior Law Counsel, Master Wine Judge and Officer of Australia AO. Melick now grows his own, he remains besotted with les grands vignobles de Bourgogne, the illustrious Pinot Noir of Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune. There are few places in the world, more akin to the 1er Grand Cru style of Pinot Noir, than the temperate pastures along Tasmania's River Derwent. It was here in 2002, amongst the woodland idylls of the apple isle, that Melick established Pressing Matters, a meagre four hectares of superior European clones Pinot Noir. Mr Melick has come full circle, this time exchanging his wager in good wine, to win the highly coveted Royal Melbourne James Halliday Trophy for the finest Pinot Noir in Australia... Pressing matters in pinot noir»

Smith Hooper Merlot CONFIRM VINTAGE

Merlot Wrattonbully South Australia
The term Terra rossa means red earth, a rich, free draining soil that is considered by many as the viticultural equivalent of discovering gold. Beneath the strata of red earth at Wrattonbully sits a layer of ancient limestone, a winegrower's dream as it allows free drainage of water, yet ensures vine roots stay close to the surface, putting natural stress on the vine and limiting its vigor and yield. An attractive wine upon release and destined to develop complexity, just perfect alongside crispy skinned pork belly. In sticky sauce of course.
Available in cartons of six
Case of 6
$125.50
The art of making wine from Merlot requires a careful avoidance of any over extractions of tannin from the fruit and seeds. Smith & Hooper choose to vinify in static fermenters while continually tasting the wine as it evolves. The skins are eventually pressed when the requisite structure and palate weight can be achieved without any distasteful tannin hardness. In pursuit of these soft tannins, Smith & Hooper are judicious in their barrel selection, maturing the finished wine for up to a year in a combination of new and older French oak hogsheads and barriques.
Bright scarlet colour. Eenchanting and full bouquet of red fruits and violet, berries and bay leaf notes to complement the central core of plum fuit. Medium bodied showing raspberry fruit and oak spice finishing with light silky tannins.
Smith Hooper
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Smith Hooper
Samuel Smith & Son is a well respected, family owned wine merchant established in 1923, with a portfolio of eminent blue chip wineries

Samuel Smith & Son's commitment to be recognised as the most respected purveyor of fine wines remains unequivocal and absolute. Smith & Hooper wines are sourced entirely from two Wrattonbully vineyards, adjacent vineyard blocks previously owned by the Smith and Hooper families. These are premium red wines from exceptional vineyard sites with Terra Rossa soil, a rich, free draining soil that is considered by many as the viticultural equivalent of discovering gold

Smith Hooper

"Like many SA companies, Yalumba had been buying grapes from Coonawarra and elsewhere in the Limestone Coast Zone long before it became a landowner there. In 1993 it purchased the 20-ha vineyard which had provided the grapes previously purchased, and a year later added a nearby 16-ha block. Together, these vineyards now have 22 ha of cabernet sauvignon and 4 ha each of merlot and shiraz. The next step was the establishment of 82 ha of vineyard in the Wrattonbully region, led by 34 ha of cabernet sauvignon, the remainder equally split between shiraz and merlot!" -Wine Companion.com.au

Smith Hooper

Smith Hooper