Penley Estate Merlot Gryphon 2008 750ml

Winery: Penley Estate

Varietal: Merlot

Merlot is one of those grape varietals which produces wines loved by almost everybody. Single variety Merlot wines tend to be balanced, medium bodied and full of rich and juicy fruit flavors wherever they are produced, which is almost in every wine producing country across the globe. Their wide appeal is partly due to the fact that Merlot, unlike other dark blue grape varietals, have a thinner skin carrying a lower tannin content. This allows wineries to produce wines which are packed full of fruit-forward flavors, and yet have a softer, fleshier and more rounded character making them highly drinkable and easy to pair with a wide variety of foods. As one of the 'Bordeaux varieties', Merlot is used in the production of some of the world's finest and most expensive wines, but is reliable enough and of a high enough quality as a grape to produce a wide range of wines affordable for all.

Region: Limestone Coast

The Limestone Coast of South Australia is one of the country's most important wine producing regions, with almost one third of all Australian wines originating there. As the name suggests, this stretch of coastline is geologically significant, being made primarily of mineral rich limestone, and thus providing plenty of nutrients for the range of grape varietals that thrive there. Interestingly, unlike many of the wine regions of Australia, the Limestone Coast has a healthy water table, meaning there is plenty of moisture below the soil, and thus solving any problems relating to irrigation that causes difficulties for wineries elsewhere in the country. Plenty of different vines flourish in this fertile region, most notably Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, and also many white wine varietals such as Chardonnay and Viognier.

Country: Australia

Whilst most of Australia consists of arid deserts and dense bushland, the oceanic coasts to the south of the country have a terrain and climate ideal for vine cultivation and wine production. It took several decades of failed attempts at the end of the 18th century in order to produce vines of a decent enough quality for making wine, but since those first false starts, the Australian wine industry has continued to grow and grow. Today, wine production makes up for a considerable part of the Australian economy, with exports in recent years reaching unprecedented levels and even overtaking France for the first time ever. Whilst the greatest successes in regards to quality have been the result of the Syrah grape varietal (known locally as Shiraz), Australia utilizes several Old World grapes, and has had fantastic results from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Riesling, Chardonnay and more. As the Australian passion for locally produced wine continues to develop, wineries have begun experimenting with a wider range of grape varietals, meaning that nowadays it isn't uncommon to find high quality Australian wines made from Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Viognier, amongst many others.