2006 Lake Baroon - Cabernet Merlot

  "A GOOD VALUE EVERYDAY WINE" James Halliday

Review: A handcrafted artisan wine. A classic blend of Cabernet (60%) and Merlot (40%). Medium bodied dry red.The dominant Cabernet Sauvignon has integrated completely with its minority partner. From abundant bramble fruit fragrance to soulful, dry, earthy, berry and cherry flavours, this is an easy drinking juicy richly fruited wine that is ready to be enjoyed right now.

The wine is full flavoured with oak char, Cabernet richness and Merlot softness. The balance of the earthy memory and the ripe fruity flavour gives this wine its harmony of taste. Richly textured and beautifully balanced, it is ready for consumption now or cellaring for the next few years.

Connoisseurs of full flavoured, complex, textured reds love this one. A sip of the vineyard captured in the bottle!

Winemaker: Peter Scudamore-Smith, Master of Wine, Viticulturalist and International Wine Judge

Style: Medium bodied, dry, French oak

Region: Darling Downs (87%), South Burnett (10%), Granite Belt (3%)

Drink: Now for youthful fruit flavours to 2010

Serve: Best 16-18°c

Wine that loves roast leg of lamb and rosemary, lamb chops, lamb sausages, moroccan style lamb tagine, roast beef - it doesn't mind the mustard, beef burgers, bangers and mash, meatloaf, steak and kidney pie, steaks with a high fat content - the tighter tannins are significantly mellowed by the meat's fat, in wine sauces, casseroles, slow cooked venison stew, roast duck with cherry sauce, Peking duck, classic roast chicken accompanied by a simple gravy enriched with the cooking juices and cabernet wine, wild mushroom risotto, grandma's hearty winter goulash, barbecued meats, game, crepinettes of wild hare, ragout of oxtail with lasagne, veal kidneys and mushrooms in burgundy sauce, beef wellington in brioche, chicken fillet - with North African flavours like cumin, cinnamon, coriander, seared tuna with a peppered crust, baked, grilled or roasted eggplant, pasta with red meat sauce, ripe brie, camembert, strong cheddar, gouda, parmesan, roquefort,  Danger Zone: avoid the vinegary mint sauce with the roast lamb; avoid spicy chilli-hot dishes - chillis and tannins are enemies, the peppery heat will strip all the fruit out of the wine, leaving an astringent dryness on the palate.

WINE LOVERS' CHOICE AWARDS: 4.5 Star "Classic - a great wine"  High Silver Medal equivalent. (Average of last 500 Wine Lovers' ratings.)