December 2, 2023 - St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Vertical spanning 3 Decades (Merce's Castle): Our first screw capped bottle and it showed. This was very closed even after a 2 hour decant. Muted nose not giving much away. First sip showed plenty of white pepper, mint and spice. Up to now probably the most different St Hugo in the line-up. Big and dense with a medium finish. Maybe would show better with food? For me this was my least favourite vintage in the flight.
November 3, 2020 - Excellent example of Coonawarra Cab, 1 hour decant - nose cigar box, eucalypt & touch of fruit - lovely powdery tannins, followed by a fading but firm line of acid and then wrapped with blackjack fruit with touches of oak around it - really very good and to my mind no rush at all
November 3, 2020 - Excellent example of Coonawarra Cab, 1 hour decant - nose cigar box, eucalypt & touch of fruit - lovely powdery tannins, followed by a fading but firm line of acid and then wrapped with blackjack fruit with touches of oak around it - really very good and to my mind no rush
October 10, 2020 - I think past its best. Suspicious first taste - some promise but with a certain faded cardboard edge. Next hour and 24 hours got worse proving its past it. Disappointing for a well cellared Stelvin capped wine.
September 6, 2020 - Dumb on opening but blackcurrant on palate with a tight tannic finish. Day 2, this had opened up beautifully, with blackcurrant to the fore, some eucalypt and a firm finish.
April 15, 2017 - Drank over two days and displayed the halmarks of a St Hugo Cabernet to the end. The wine did not open out as much as expected the second day and along with the slightly fiery finish in the mouth I am not sure it will improve much past here. It's a nice if not overly refined wine now so enjoy it.
February 14, 2017 - Big high-end jam, prune and lead pencil nose with lots of high notes.Brambly, blood orange, slight aniseed in the mouth.
Long finish of chocolate orange and apricot pip 60-90 seconds. No sediment present, so I'm guessing this will not improve.
April 26, 2015 - This is a nicely balanced cabernet, its full bodied and has a lovely mouthfeel. The fruit sits well in the wine and its rich but delicate on the palate. It will be interesting to see if it develops further from here.
October 6, 2014 - Full, parody-fruity, forward nose with loads of mint and menthol. Cassis and toasty vanilla-oak. Tight and Mighty, but no layers. Young. Will be better with secondary aroma development.
Medium-fullish, concentrated, very fruity palate. Nice acid. Dynamic tannins. Very succulent. Fiery, oaky finish. Unbalanced and with too much mint for my taste.
Very Aussie with the mint. Very hard to see the elegance here...
September 19, 2014 - Nice well rounded cabernet, but could do with a bit more time in the bottle