2006 Star Lane Merlot

There’s not a lot of great Merlot in Australia, but this 2006 Merlot is predicting that Star Lane could be up there amongst the best. Very deep garnet colored, the nose gives aromas of ripe plum, cloves, loam, black olive and a touch of gaminess. With a nice backbone of high acid and firm, fine grained tannins this medium to full-bodied wine reveals good concentration with nice weight and balance, giving a long finish. You can consider drinking this wine now but it’s worth cellaring it a little longer to enjoy from 2012 to 2020+. A fairly new, family owned Beechworth operation, Star Lane Vineyard’s Brett (viticulturalist) and Liz (winemaker) Barnes get a helping hand from Giaconda’s Rick Kinzbrunner, which can’t hurt! These early releases are already looking very impressive. Importer: CLD Imports, LLC, Barrington, IL; tel. (847) 898-9504; www.cldimports.com