12.2% Brick red. A faint cedar nose, with some decayed raspberry, earth and dust. Somewhat astringent on the palate. Good balance of weight across all the palate, with a medium weight finish of moderate length. Unlikely to improve further. Not a wine for fruit-bomb fans. If you like gentle Hunter earthiness, it’s a fine wine drinking at its peak. Will complement rather than overpower food, which is precisely the intention.

13% A 60/40 Merlot/Cab blend, this was brick red with a little orange appearing at the rim. A softly wafting nose of coconut and vanilla, but with a fruity-sweet edge, rather than just oak aromas. Initially, tannins appear very soft, but gradually build in weight. Overall, a distinctly velvety texture, and very attractive. Nowhere to go in terms of development now, but showing no signs of falling over either. Lovely wine.

13% Solid red with a little brick colour at the rim. First aromatic impression is of vanillan oak, with supporting blackberry fruit. This label has copped some flack for overt oakiness over the years, and it’s true that the flavour component of the oak is strong, but it’s more of a gentle, Rioja-like sweetness than a blast of woody tannin. The palate is soft yet powerful, with (just) enough acid to maintain freshness. There’s a warmth about this cabernet which stands in utter opposition to more austere expressions of the grape, and contributes to the palate-saturating mouthfeel on offer. A polished finish of medium-full weight. Certainly showing no signs of decline and will live for years yet.

12.2% A private label wine apparently made for a few years by John Wade between leaving Wynns and setting up Howard Park. Pure red, beginning to take on a brick-like tint. The opposite expression of cabernet to the Dorrien, and the nearest thing to a Bordeaux all night. Tight blackcurrant aromatics, with herbaceous notes (but not in any way green or unripe), all overlaid with some graphite-cedary tones. There’s lively acid on the palate; the tannins are very soft and nicely integrated. This wine is all-of-a-piece, with the focused integrity that comes only from quality fruit. Medium weight, perhaps only a slightly short finish detracts slightly from what is otherwise a class act of a wine.

12% Labelled 'Claret', of course. Brick red. Smoky nose, with earth and bacon fat. Some herbaceousness. Tannins are soft on palate, and acid is beginning to become prominent. Weight is on the light side of medium. Attractive lighter style food wine, pleasant enough in isolation, but outclassed in this company. At, or just past, its drinking peak. Not bad at all, though.

13% Mid red colour, but I wondered if at first it was a bit cloudy. Very odd nose, closed with just a general mouldy smell. Very hard to find much here at first. Smells somehow dirty. Things are better on the palate – some fine iron-like tannins, and lovely palate coverage. An idiosyncratic wine indeed – seems earthy but not bruising. A big wine clearly in need of more time. I kept a glass of this and after an hour it developed lovely tobacco notes and really began to open up – some spicy/coffee/chocolate fruits emerged. Would doubtless have benefited from a longer decant. Super wine.

Deep red. Yes, the vanilla oak is very much to the fore, supported by coconut and musk aromas. It’s a nose that exudes class, though. Full bodied and weighty, it’s hugely impressive, yet somehow less satisfying than the last bottle I tasted of this wine 3 years ago, which was somehow more complete and integrated. This bottle just seems to be a bit oakier, somehow. The blackcurrant fruits and underlying tarry notes are playing second fiddle here. Needs more time still.

Red with some bricking. Alcohol unknown – this bottle was wearing a trade/show label. There’s plenty of sweet raspberry fruit here, lifted with that classic Padthaway spearmint/menthol quality. Tannins are soft, acid is quite prominent and perhaps not entirely integrated. Attractive balance through the palate though. Drinking nicely now, and unlikely to benefit from further aging. I think perhaps Orlando missed the boat fractionally with this wine – some years ago at a dinner I recall it being clearly overshadowed by its 1988 and 1991 siblings.

14.4% Deep red. A monolithic nose somewhat dominated by coconutty American oak. There’s quality chocolate-peppermint fruit underneath, but it struggles to emerge from beneath the wall of fine but immensely strong tannins. An impressive if slightly controversial wine, and demonstrating very little of its 14 years, this needs considerably more time. Hopefully the tannins will soften out before the fruit fades – I think it will be a close race, and the ideal drinking window will possibly be quite small. It’s easy to see how it took Grange as a model

Not quite 1990, and although we had one with us, after the 91 we really thought it would be wasted this early in its life. The 91 remains black in colour, and quite monolithic in its aromas – fine mocha oak dominates. The palate follows with coconut & tarry fruits, together with some chocolate/vanilla qualities. It’s very powerful – the tannins are fine-grained but build cumulatively. All parts of the palate are coated with flavour, and the finish is long and impressive – there are no balance problems here. Yet the wine is obstinately restrained – rather like a locomotive traveling at walking pace. At 13 years old, showing about a quarter of its potential I would say. Put it away with the 95 Latour and leave it for another 30 years.

Bottled 6 weeks ago upon request, to celebrate David’s 50th. One good sniff of this from a large glass and it could cure pneumonia! A hot spirity nose infused with burnt toffee & caramel aromas. Despite the high alcohol and consequent heat, it’s in no way unbalanced, just very powerful indeed. The palate is an equal paradox – immensely strong acid supports an otherwise thick oily, golden syrup texture.