There really is a Dowie Doole, architect/grower Drew Dowie and international banker/grower Norm Doole. Their dedicated team have struck a purple patch with Merlot, fortifying the pick of their crop with a tenth of Cabernet Sauvignon for structure, aromaticness and length. At Dowie Doole, quality drives everything. Viticulturally, the ultimate expression of quality is in delivering harvests of the most exceptional fruit to make great wines. The requisite McLaren Merlot style of early accessibility and soft lingering flavours, gracious tannins and supportive oak.

Some of the finest, eldest and most distinguished McLaren Vale vineyards have now been welcomed into the Dowie Doole family. Merlot is harvested in excellent condition as the grapes achieve rich colour, exemplary varietal flavour, good acidity and fine ripe tannins. Fruit is crushed and vinified on skins in a static fermenter for six days. A third of the juices are run off into medium toast American oak hogsheads and barrel fermented to dryness. The balance is fermented to dryness and transferred to a selection of seasoned, second and third use barrels. Batches complete malolactic and several months maturation before assembling into the final wine.