Margaret River is surely Australia’s greatest exponent of Bordeaux-style red blends, with Voyager Estate among the leading exemplars.
Girt By Sea Cabernet Merlot is a blend of 69 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 27 per cent merlot and four per cent petit verdot sourced from estate vineyards in the Stevens Valley.
It’s a fabulous example of the style, whereby merlot’s generous red fruit character and softer tannin structure tempers the seriousness of cabernet.
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Medium-bodied, with lovely supple tannins, it’s a fresh and vibrant wine that is highly approachable now, with enough heft to support medium term cellaring at a bare minimum.
Voyager winemaker Steve James describes it as, “the perfect Friday night pizza wine”, but this undersells it I feel.
There’s stunning value here for sub-$30. Well worth buying a case and seeing how it evolves over the next five to seven years.
RRP: $28
Source: Sample supplied
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Wine podcast episodes on Drinks Adventures
How Tasmania lured gun winemaker Samantha Connew: S10E2
The NBA’s wine obsession, with Baxter Holmes of ESPN
