InterWined.con recently procured a £12 bottle of Merlot from a small Italian importer. Fortunately, the wine was sold at a 25% discount, and once tax was added the bottle came in right under the 10 quid limit…£9.7125 (yes, they charged me to the 10,000th of a pence).

The 2002 Monreale Rosso di Ture Merlot smells of fresh, black ink with a hint of the dairy farm thrown in. The wine could age for another 5 years, easy, but is already tempting with its jasmine-like perfumed aroma.

Deep ruby colour, densely coiled in its core. The wine slips gobs of tannin under the tongue with some zip. There is a bit of throat burn, so it could easily take to decanting. The mellowed-out wine (after an hour in the decanter) is strong and burly and could easily slaughter a spring lamb: 9.1.

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