Mark Davidson, Cabernet/Merlot (NV) $14

South Eastern Australia

I first had this wine in a favorite restaurant of mine with a pecan crusted, baked snapper. Probably one of the most flavorful fish entrees I’ve ever had. The wine was on their “by-the-bottle” specials that night so I decided to try it. As the story goes for most of us once we find something we like…”where can I buy this?” Its always a challenge especially for those great restaurant wines not found in stores. It took about 6 months once I stumbled on it and I didn’t hesitate to buy a few bottles.

The wine’s fragrance was full of dark, ripe berries followed by a sweetness found in grape jam. Along with this, a bouquet of fragrant herbs was prominent. On the first taste a mouthful of ripe black berries & currants led this medium bodied, wonderfully blended wine. Through the mid palette, I found cedar and tobacco flavors with soft tannins on the finish, which are probably from the Merlot. This is such a nice drinking wine with the boldness of a Cabernet and the subtlety of a Merlot. It almost reminds me of a full bodied red Zinfandel yet not so 'fruity'.

This wine doesn’t have a vintage date, which could mean there is some blending of varietals from a neighboring year. This doesn’t bother me as it used to especially if the wine has what I like and this one will not let you down.

Mark Davidson has been making fine wines from premium vineyards in Australia for 21 years. In 1985, along with investors, Mark bought Tamburlaine Winery and has been in charge of wine production and operations. Tamburlaine has a reputation for innovation along with a focus on producing high quality wines with cutting edge and environmentally sound production techniques.