ANTHONIJ RUPERT MERLOT 2021

Tendrils of spice add nuance and allure to a nose packed with black berries, hedgerow fruit and some mocha notes. The palate is plush, rounded and pillowy but layered with dark fruitcake flavour, black cherry, baking spice and pencil shavings too. The mouthfeel is complemented by its overall stature and regal refinement. Balanced with seamless integration of oak and ripe, rich fruit with lovely succulence and freshness as well. Complex, supple and silky smooth, the wine is ultimately simply delicious with a superbly long tail.

Genteel, suave and refined, t he nose is complex, layered with cassis, earth, hint of herbs, black cherry and spice. That same elegance is found in the mouth, sleek, supple and velvety on entry. The next element to become apparent is the harmony and balance of the ripe cassis, black cherry and dark berry fruit with succulent acid freshness. Afterwards, the herb, tobacco leaf, cedar and nutty notes make themselves known, along with the appropriately firm angularity of the tannin frame provided by oak maturation. Thrilling, taut and energetic, it’s drinking well now but will comfortably handled a decade or more in bottle.

Inviting melange of plush and plump black and red berry fruits, blueberries, spice and chocolate on the nose. Those same fruits and flavours glide seamlessly from the nose onto the palate. There’s a subtle note of fennel or anise but with rich black cherry and plum notes adding succulence. Reigning in this abundance is a frame of oak and tannin which provides a gentle, muscular squeeze. Textured, rich and rounded but elegantly robust, there’s a beautiful complexity and breadth to this wine. The cocoa powder nuance is present in the long, tapered finish. One made for cellaring but also for immediate enjoyment.

Citrus leaf, nectarine and baked artisanal bread aromas mingle with notes of kelp and sea spray. Tangy, zippy and fresh entry with bright pops of lemon, grapefruit and orange zest. The palate is lively and energetic, courtesy of its vivid acidity, with a slight edge of limestone, oyster shell and flint lending a dryness. That brightness then makes way for an ample, richer, altogether more leesy, baked sourdough and yeasty breadth. Harmony of citrus fruit, acid and mature autolytic notes is impeccable and as a consequence, the genteel, elegant power of the wine is restrained and lengthy while clean and crisp.