Print this Wine         1995 Bannockburn Cabernet Merlot   GEELONG/VICTORIA                 January Release Case Size: 6/750ml Bordeaux Blends       This wine has more affinity with Bordeaux than Australia, which is not surprising for Garry Farr, given his French leanings. But then Geelong has conditions more similar to Bordeaux than the warmer climate regions of Australia. The wine still is deep red with a little purple tinge, and looks remarkably youthful for its bottle age. The aroma also indicates a wine younger than four years. The fruit is very much to the fore with rich and ripe blackberry and mulberry combining with charred oak and a hint of mint and tarragon. The fruit seems just a little riper than the cool climate location of the vineyard, although this is due to the particularly low yields from the carefully tended vineyards. The herbal characters which add to the complexity are giveaways as to the coolness of the ripening conditions. Tasting the wine and the fruit almost explodes inside the mouth. The fruit is most evident at the front of the palate but there is plenty of texture in the middle of the palate, and firmness with the structure at the back. The overall impression is that of balance and harmony. No one component seems to dominate yet they are all detectable and play important roles in the composition of the wine. The wine has had a few years to soften and yet it has not lost any of the fruit intensity, so you can certainly enjoy drinking the wine now. Given its tannic structure, however, the wine has been made to age for many more years and will probably peak in a further 8 to 10 years. There is also plenty of acid which will always make the wine taste fresher than its real age. Serve some fragrant young lamb with its flavor enhanced by mint and possibly rosemary. This would be an ideal combination as the sweetness of the meat and the texture will soften the tannin and allow the fruit of the wine to be even more prominent. The herbs will simply re-inforce the aromatic cool climate characters that form so much of the make-up of this superb wine.         How do I download Hi-Res Labels? Shelf Talkers require Acrobat Reader 6.0 click here to download

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