2017 Cannibal Creek Merlot

The Finer Details

What does our Somm say?

This Cannibal Creek Merlot has a beautifully balanced cream on the palate with a flavoursome intensity that is soft and lingers.

Merlot is known to pair beautifully with many foods, lending itself to flavoursome, meat & tomato based foods with intense flavours. In general, it is widely thought to also handle spicy flavours, such as hot salamis or Smokey paprika style marinades very well.

For a lunchtime occasion or afternoon drinks, we would suggest pairing the Cannibal Creek Merlot with duck pâté, a charcuterie board, pork roast, potatoes au gratin, hamburgers or even American style braised short ribs.

Within the context of evening dining and social banqueting, we found this Merlot will sing when paired with roast lamb, Chinese duck-pancakes, or tomato-based pasta bake. Even meatballs, or meat dishes with a mushroom, wine-based reduction

 

Optimal Serving Temp: 15-18 Degrees Celsius

 

Cannibal Creek, Winery of Gippsland

Cannibal Creek Vineyard is about an hour East of Melbourne, on the fringe of Gippsland in Victoria. They are nestled in a greenbelt valley of high rainfall and rich soil farming land just beyond the urban sprawl, where the air becomes fresher and the distinct granite range of Mount Cannibal looms into view.

Owned and operated by Pat & Kirsten Hardiker since 1997, the family of winemakers at Cannibal Creek have a total vineyard area of approximately 5 hectares comprising Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

Cannibal Creek Vineyard sits on an area of Devonian Granodiorite (Granite) and Granite Clays, which give rise to a natural soil profile of sandy silt, overlying silty granite clays.  The origin of these soils is Quartz.  This granite is quarried in and around Tynong and is the same stone used to build the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

 

Granite soils tend to be acidic, and it has been shown in these types of soils that the grapes themselves can lack acid. This influences the approach to Cannibal Creek’s viticulture and winemaking and the wines themselves. They believe their granite soils are responsible for the mineral and flinty characters in the wines, both reds and whites.

 

All of the Cannibal Creek wine is grown, tended, picked, and made onsite by hand. They use traditional methods including French oak, sustainable soil nourishment methods, and have a minimal intervention approach.

Cannibal Creek have enjoyed numerous awards across multiple wines in recent years, and are proud members of Wine Gippsland, promoting wineries in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia.

Grapes: Merlot 100%

 

Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Bottle Size: 750ml