Brash Higgins and the 2016 Merlot that tastes gloriously un-Merlot like

Brash Higgins MRLO Merlot 2016

This is the best Australian Merlot I’ve had in some time.

Importantly, this doesn’t taste anything like your average Aussie Merlot. Instead, it reads from a song sheet that is more like the Nero d’Avola that makes up 10% of the blend. A serenade of black fruited energy that is, well, deliciously different.

If there is one thing that I do wonder about this wine it remains the influence of the amphorae it was fermented and matured in. That energy, that lively juiciness – could it be only enhanced by the quasi-mystical clay pots? Or am I just drinking the Kool-Aid? Whatever it is, this is tasty wine.

Sourced from Mclaren Vale’s Lennon Vineyard planted in 1994, this is fermented in both amphora and open, one-tonne fermenters, then spending 9 months in clay.

A dark purple coloured wine, this has lots of dark, luscious, blackberry fruit. I’d almost pick it as having more Nero than a token splash as it’s just drenched in ripe, licoricey rich fruit, tending towards fruit cake, but not overripe. Just perfect. Beyond all this fruit lies a palate of fine, light tannins, and acidity that Brad Hickey calls ‘glossy’.

Energetic, plump and very drinkable, it’s strictly speaking a wine of fruit and some critics may score it down as a result. But as a showcase of how joyful ripe grapes can be when squished and turned into wine, it’s perfect. Best drinking: 2017-2027. 18.5/20, 94/100. 13.9%, $37. Would I buy it? I’d buy a bottle off a list for sure.