Australian red Bordeaux varietal over £10

2009 Amelia Park Cabernet Merlot, Margaret River

Amelia Park Wines is a boutique operation located in the Margaret River Wine Region. Founded in 2009, the aim of this partnership, between Jeremy and Daniela Gordon and successful WA businessman Peter Walsh, is to focus on producing fine wines of exceptional quality.

Jeremy Gordon’s impressive winemaking pedigree all helps and it’s neither coincidence nor luck that Amelia Park should wine this trophy with its first vintage.

Gordon began his career in Western Australia with Evans & Tate and Houghton before moving to the eastern states. He returned to found Flametree in 2007, who’s first Cabernet Merlot, the 2007 vintage, was a runaway success, awarded five trophies in the 2008 wine show season including the coveted Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy.

Experience in Margaret River has enabled him to build strong relationships with the region’s premium vineyards. He sources a number of small batch parcels from within the region specifically aiming to build wines of complexity and consistent quality.

Having a number of small batches in the winery allows him the winemaker’s luxury of playing with different blends.

The 2009 Cabernet Merlot, for instance, is mainly Cabernet from Amelia Park’s best parcels in northern and southern Margaret River – the north bringing richness and robust flavours, the south subtle elegant flavours and tannins, along with Merlot from southern Margaret River and a small percentage of intense Malbec.

The wine has won several gold medals, was a finalist for the Jimmy Watson Trophy and awarded the trophy for Best Cabernet/Cabernet Blend, against a raft of international wines, at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit
Competition.

According to Daniela Gordon, ‘Jeremy tends to put a lot of himself into his wines. So much so that he actually fell into one of the open fermenters during the vintage after a particularly long 18 hour day. It seems to have given the Cab Merlot that little something extra’.