POSTED: 20 NOVEMBER 2010

The Great Mary Kathleen

Just a short note about cabernet merlot — undoubtedly the most popular blend with cabernet sauvignon over the past few years.

I have just finished a particularly luscious and delightful bottle from Coriole 2001 Mary Kathleen Reserve Cabernet Merlot ($55) from McLaren Vale.

Unlike the style made by most of the Margaret River wineries, this is all about savoury flavours and structure rather than sweet blackcurrant fruit piled on more sweet fruit and tempered by a little plum and spice.

The wine is seamless from first aroma of olive tapenade to the last gentle bite of tannin to finish your mouthful. The layers of flavour are beautifully integrated, giving a mouth-filling taste that is distinctly Coriole.

I have regularly used this wine and its predecessors to prick the ego of the odd “wine snob” who has inveigled their way to a tasting or table I am running.

The cabernet comes off very old vines and it shows. The merlot adds a new dimension to the nose, and complexity to the underlying flavours, resulting in a seriously good — in a good vintage, great — food wine that develops even further in the bottle.

While I remain a huge fan of those cassis-driven fruit bombs from Voyager, Cape Mentelle, Cullen and others, the Mary Kathleen Reserve remains my cab merlot blend of choice. Long may she remain so.

Jeff Gordon is one of Australia's most experienced winewriters and is highly regarded for his always insightful, occasionally inciteful, commentary on matters grape. He has recently developed his own website — www.jeffgordon.com.au — which provides a new home for his pithy On the Nose column and also features a Thursday round-up of the weekly specials being offered by major liquor retailers.