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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.09 $14.83
12 bottles: $11.42
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $74.89
One of the best Merlots I've tasted from Australia, Hickinbotham's 2016 The Revivalist Merlot does hint at cherry...
12 FREE
WA
93
WS
93
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $69.94
Saturated garnet. Deep, smoke- and spice-accented red and blue fruit qualities on the nose. Smooth and fleshy in...
12 FREE
VM
93
WE
93
Sale
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $25.80 $27.16
6 bottles: $16.66
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.08 $14.82
12 bottles: $11.40
Sale
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $24.13 $25.40
6 bottles: $15.84
A soft and elegant, medium-bodied Merlot with delicious red berry aromas, dark red berry fruit, textural oak and...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.94 $12.57
12 bottles: $9.51
A soft and elegant, medium-bodied Merlot with delicious red berry aromas, dark red berry fruit, textural oak and...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.88 $32.09
12 bottles: $26.61
Deep red in colour, the Scooter exudes fresh berries and spice. Layers of redcurrants and fresh plums are laced with...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.02
12 bottles: $10.48
Light and focused, with balanced green herbal notes, plus tangy berry and cherry flavors and cedar accents. Drink...
Sale
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $22.61 $23.80
6 bottles: $14.73
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.94 $12.57
12 bottles: $9.51
Red
750ml
Bottle: $76.65
12 bottles: $75.12
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.44 $13.09
12 bottles: $9.51
This [yellow tail] Merlot is everything a great wine should be – soft, velvety and easy to drink. Soft and smooth,...
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $42.98

Merlot Primitivo Mencia Australia

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.


Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.

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.