Aromas of ripe dark berries and spice mingle with subtle notes of herbs and oak. The colour is deep ruby red with crimson hues. On the palate, this medium-bodied blend offers an inviting array of layered flavours including dark cherry and plum with background nuances of oak and spice. The tannins are soft and integrated providing a smooth and satisfying finish.

Ben Riggs has hand-crafted a delicious Shiraz Cabernet Merlot blend here that pays homage to the three-spiked prickle that can be found in the McLaren Vale region and the fact that it's hard to ignore. This unctuous red blend is also extremely hard to ignore with its seamless varietal integration that produces a wine full of richness and opulence. Ripe, dark berry fruits courtesy of Merlot along with spice elements from the Shiraz and a firm, but balanced structure from the Cabernet all come together superbly.

Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon 86%; Merlot 14% Purple with crimson edges looks serious in the glass. Tobacco leaf feint cassis purple plums a complex nose which adds weight to the serious theme. Quality MR Cabernet leads the charge here. A wine with high cheek- bones. Just ripe cabernet gives this sinew and poise. Merlot is subservient almost hard to detect. Terrific wine, at almost twice the price.

Oakridge Over the Shoulder Cabernet Merlot is bold fruit driven and mouth filling, this wine combines old world style with contemporary wine making techniques.

A vibrant bouquet of black fruits, tobacco and cedar with hints of chocolate and roasted coffee. The palate has the wonderful intensity of Cabernet flavour with fine French oak contributing polished structural tannins. The addition of Merlot and Malbec completes the picture, adding the complexity of plum and wild raspberry flavours and plush mid-palate fruit. Suitable for cellaring for 5-7 years.

Since the first release in 2002, Fraser Gallop Estate have gone from strength to strength, picking up a Jimmy Watson Medal along the way. The Cabernet Merlot is a lovely example of the blend which is so at home in Margaret River. Leafy mulberry on the nose with cassis in the background, and a soft , flavoursome palate. Delicious!

This Western Australian classic is both bright and ripe, rich Cabernet fruit aromas with some fine oak background. Medium bodied and complex at the first instance, with fine tannins and chocolate contribution from Merlot. This wine has persistent fine tannins and savoury fruit sweetness to the finish.

'This is a more serious statement of the cabernet merlot blend. It has a firm spine running deep into the fleshy fruit. Lots of blackcurrant and black olive cabernet working with the richer fruitcake depth of the merlot. Firmish tannins and good oak treatment. Long finish with a dry sappiness.' - 91/100 - West Australian, 15 May 2014, by Ray Jordan.

Estate grown from the spectacular hillside vineyard in the Ferguson Valley of the Geographe wine region, fruit is sourced predominately from the Blinman block which was planted in 1998. Soil is typically a deep layer of ironstone gravelly loam over red and yellow friable clay with slight westerly aspects at elevations of 220 to 250m above sea level.