new world Merlots

[hovell]

I am planning a tasting using:
Casa Lapostolle Merlot 2000
Hawk Crest Crest 99
Lindeman Bin 40 Merlot 99
The price range of the three is around $20 each
I am trying to highlight the differences in their production to the finished product. i.e. The chilian wine is hand picked from a single estate where the maturing time for the grape is prolonged by the cold nights. Which helps to fix the methoxypyrazine flavour compounds in the skin.
The other two are more commercialised operations both being a blend of Merlots from a number of estates chosen so that the product standard is kept constant from one year to the next.
Can you see anything fundamentally wrong with these ideas and is there any thing else I should be looking for here?

TIA
Ian Hovell

[Innkeeper]

Hi Ian, and welcome to the Wine Board. Don't know where you live, but you are paying too much for these wines by almost half. The Chilian will taste like green peppers and oak. The others will taste like plums and oak. There are not a lot of worthy New World Merlots, but here's a couple to look for: Bogle, Blackstone will both be in that price range.