Irvine

News - Merlot Musings

01 December 2004

Eleven Years of Magnums Grand Merlot

We recently opened eleven magnums, from 1989 to 1999.

The event took place in Perth under the guidance of Michael Tamburri of La Vigna wine store, and at the multi-award winning Jackson's Restaurant, Mt Lawley.

You may have heard from time to time that Merlots don't last. Nothing could be further from the truth, and indeed the evening showed many things, and particularly that Merlot does certainly last, for we have four vintages older than this, in magnums, which are absolutely alive and well.

Of course it may well be that putting down magnums is the perfect thing to do, and consequently consumers can reap the rewards of patience.

Following is an outline of the evening and other comments about the Irvine Grand Merlots of Springhill, which will no doubt give some thought as to your own enjoyment.



From Irvine point of view it is not a matter of which year is best, but more to see just what each year has given. How much difference is there? What is the difference itself, and do I enjoy it?

Can the concept of Grand-Grand Merlot be verified?

Just what is it that makes this grand over other excellent Merlots?

By tasting the last ten years we can get a much more definite understanding of this Irvine style - more so than seeing the wines 1985 - 1995 for in the early years we just did not know where the style should be, or the detail in winemaking. So each year we changed just one technique. This way we knew just what caused the resultant change.

Things to Look For



All wines have been decanted for 3+ hours - the Grand Merlots absolutely need this to show at their very best.

Truly great Merlot should be thought of quite differently from other great reds of Shiraz, Cabernet, Tempranillo and so on, as indeed these are nearly always so obvious as soon as you pick up the glass.

Merlot on the other hand can be thought of in a couple of ways:

"The iron fist in the velvet glove". Great strength and body enveloped in richness of fruit and smooth tannins.

Or

"Like a great novel". You have to get into the story before you can fully enjoy the finish.

Where then does the greatness come from? It comes from:
  • Knowing and drinking world recognized great Merlots
  • Having established these "goal posts" then find out just how this comes about in the vineyard, the winery, the maturation and bottle ageing.
  • Get to recognize the richness that only comes from truly ripe fruit - pick the Merlot grapes the very day they start to crinkle!
  • Determine the every detail in the ferment - the temperature and what it does to the flavours; the type of ferment (quick, slow, with additions of tannin or not; left on skins for how many days after ferment; into which oak - for how long; and so on and so on.
In all there are at least sixty or so questions that need to be asked before even one berry is picked!

Behind all this is the knowledge needed to know just what each of these variations will do to the final Grand Merlot when consumed five to ten years later.

Yes, these wines have to be made in quite a different way than those to drink at, say, two years - or less.

By using so many variables/inputs we are in effect layering flavour upon flavour upon flavour with the end result in mind. This end result - complexity and interest in the total taste. Somewhat like comparing a four piece combo with the full orchestra!

So now with some twenty vintages of making Grand merlot, we most certainly have a large store of very particular skill and knowledge about super premium Merlot making.

Another major area of consideration is indeed the vineyard.

Here we can now add further taste sensations by growing different clones of Merlot and indeed we now have D3V5 and D3V7 to add to our original plantings of D3V14.

D3V14 is much maligned in general statements by inexperienced wine writers and winemakers who just don't take the time to think through that which they write or say. If D3V14 is so bad, why have Irvines won "World's Best Merlot" twice, and often compared in the top twenty great Merlots. Sort of makes a mess of that argument, doesn't it?

Be that as it may, for our Springhill vineyard it just might be that this site is specifically good with D3V14.

The great thrill this year is to have our second crop of D3V7 and with such incredible flavour depth that it went straight into a parcel of Grand Merlot. Something quite remarkable for never did I think that vines less than eight to ten years of age would produce such high quality fruit and intensity of flavour.

The flavour started to show at around twelve baume, a good two baume earlier than the other two clones. So this spring we plant the last hectare left with two new clones, being 8R and Q45-14.

This we hope will again add more interest to the flavours and complexities of Grand Merlot in future years.

As to the growing of Merlot at Springhill, it is very much a minimal input system program (MIP). Minimal cultivation, minimal irrigation (max 100mm per year), minimal pesticide (fortnightly pest inspections), minimal herbicide usage (non-residuals), so in this way we see a superb environmental result. Literally thousands of frogs of various types croaking away at night to an almost annoying level. Lichens on trees, abundant native birds feeding on the hundreds of native trees (and on the late ripening Merlot!) and the passing parade of wild duck, cormorants and wedge tails.

Springhill by name and Springhill by nature - natural springs all over the place running usually until about December. So we have a little piece of Eden in our Eden Valley property - Springhill.

RESULTS OF TASTING - 3 HOUR DECANT



1989 Still a wild child
1990 Very meaty bouquet but great taste
1991 Lifted - peppery - beautiful tannins
1992 Seamless, with high power in mid-palate
1993 Amazing growth - quite floral
1994 Bigger style, quite chocolately and rich
1995 Spicy and herbal lift. Rich - fruity - deep.
1996 Less oak so more fruit. Earthy; huge; big tannins.
1997 Awesome. Giant fruit bomb. Hug, soft tannins - spectacular.
1998 Very chocolate. Abundant tannins, but juicy.
1999 Great soft tannins. Needs time - potential.
2004 Bowl of roses. Huge fruit, vibrant, concentrated flavour, great balance.

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