Jeir Creek Wines 2001 Cab-Merlot age-worthy wine experience has won our weekly swirl with “Aromas of chocolate, cherries and a waft of mocha.”

Sixty Second Swirl by Brent Lello, Yass Valley Times Wine Columnist

Every now and again, one of our Yass Valley wineries will offer a “museum tasting” – a taste of their wines that have been carefully cellared to allow the wine to mature and develop.

Right now, at Jeir Creek Wines, all their wines on offer are “mature-age”.

The new team at Jeir Creek are getting the vineyard back on track, but in the meantime, they are offering wine-loving punters a unique and age-worthy wine experience.  The subject of this week’s “swirl” is the Jeir Creek Cabernet Merlot 2001 – a 20-year-old veteran.

This blend is a deep dark red with a brown brick edge.

A swirl unveils age-derived secondary characters rather than primary fruit characters.

Aromas of chocolate, cherries and a waft of mocha.  There’s also an undertow of earthiness, aligning to its age.

Its ripe and smooth on the palate, with soft edges and flavours of ripe dark fruits.

The key for this wine and others with age under their belt is to decant before drinking.

Decanting lets the wine breathe and settle down after so many years in the bottle.

We enjoyed our bottle with crumbly and sharp cheddar cheese and the combination was delightfully delicious.

I bought mine from the cellar door for $40 or you can also buy online.