THE WINEThe Dilly Dally 2007 Merlot is an elegant but deeply-coloured take on merlot, with emphasis on structure and texture but not at the expense of the fruit. It’s an understated wine for grown-ups with a concentrated but elegant perfume of cassis , redcurrants, fresh blackcurrant leaf and roses. On the palate there is a marvelous interplay between some exuberant ripe, red fruit and some serious but elegant tannin, with the whole streaked through with lively and fresh acidity. In the finish the tannins show at their finest- ripe, rounded and profound- with zesty red fruit throwing them into relief. Our finest Dilly Dally to date, this is an excellent Sunday lunch wine with wing-rib roast of beef.
FRUITSuperb in its fragrance, the 2007 Dilly Dally shows what a marvellous synergy there is between the Adelaide Hills and Merlot, and particularly when grown on the vineyard that makes such a contribution to this wine; it’s not only us that thinks it is one of the Adelaide Hills' very best vineyards. A judicious swipe of Clare Valley Merlot lends some juicy heart and some redcurrant perfume, an equally well- judged wallop of Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon builds the wine from the foundation up, and the Adelaide Hills component takes these contributions and weaves them into a delicious whole.The Clare Valley Merlot ripened first and was handpicked between the 5th and 6th March with great flavours and perfect acidity. The Adelaide Hills Merlot followed on the 14th March at 13 Baume, also with excellent acid, and the Cabernet came soon after at 13.7 Baume.VINIFICATIONAfter crushing the Adelaide Hills Merlot into a fermenter, fermentation lasted 18 days at around 22 degrees, and was preceded by two days cold-soak and followed by eight days post-fermentation maceration, in both cases to broaden the range of flavours and to improve the texture and the structure of the wine. Following pressing the wine was matured in tank for 15 months, and then in seasoned French oak for a further year before blending and bottling in October 2009.THE WINEThe Dilly Dally 2007 Merlot is an elegant but deeply-coloured take on Merlot, with an emphasis on structure and texture but not at the expense of fruit. It’s an understated wine for grown-ups with a concentrated but elegant perfume of cassis, redcurrants, fresh blackcurrant leaf and roses. On the palate there is a marvellous interplay between some exuberant, ripe, red fruit and some serious but elegant tannins, with the whole streaked through with lively and fresh acidity. In the finish the tannins show at their finest- ripe, rounded and profound- with zesty red fruit throwing them into relief. Our finest Dilly Dally to date, this is an excellent Sunday lunch wine with wing-rib roast of beef.A FEW NUMBERSAlcohol 14.3% pH 3.5 TA 6.4
Serve with roast goose, jugged hare or steak au poivre.
A final note … if you have any American friends, make sure you know them really well before you offer them a Hummer. We’re saying no more.
FRUITA singular wine that is the product of a singular vineyard. Lying just north of Clare, this vineyard has an old patch of Merlot that sometimes produces nearly nothing, but sometimes something truly exceptional; and it did just that in 2006. The fruit was hand harvested in late March in perfect condition in perfect weather.VINIFICATIONAs soon as the fruit was crushed to the fermenter the colours, flavours and aromas stood out as exceptional, as they had done in the vineyard. Fermentation took place after three days of pre-ferment maceration (to extract lots of colour and delicious flavours) and lasted eleven days, and started warm at 30 degrees and then finished (relatively) cool at 20 degrees. After pressing, the wine was aged in tank for 10 months before filling to oak in February 2007, into a combination of (second fill) French and (a bit older) American oak. And there it lay, undisturbed for 32 months, until we picked out the best and most opulent barrels, and blended and bottled them in October 2009.THE WINEAn explosion of joyful, hedonistic pleasure, the 2006 Hummer could charm its way through any door in the world; a wine full of unmitigated, delicious joy of life. Very deeply coloured and quite opaque in the centre, the Hummer has a gloriously luxurious nose of deliciously rich and perfumed chocolate studded with the most perfectly ripe cherries in all the world, surrounded by a bed of the most ravishingly aromatic roses in all creation. So, not a bad first impression. And the palate’s not too bad either: as wonderful and as comfortable as the best pillow in the world, stuffed with the best chocolate, the best cherries and the best roses. Probably not something to try with a pillow at home, but after a bottle of the Hummer who knows … Overwhelmingly soft, overwhelmingly delicious, but nonetheless with great structure to hold it all in place and give it definition. And it all ends in a friendly tsunami of dark cherry, slippery plum and melting chocolate.
A final note.... if you have any American friends, make sure you know them really well before you offer them a Hummer. We are saying no more. A FEW NUMBERSAlcohol 14.7% pH 3.6 TA 6.1
