September 5, 2021 - Surprisingly light and fresh for a Barossa red. Delegate and sophisticated. All the trademarks of a good cab sav. Still has many years of life left so no rush.
February 29, 2020 - Bright blackcurrent juice with dried red chilli, hints of vanilla pods and earthy cumin. Only on the palate the smoked bell pepper emerged from the rich and fat structure. Very rounded and dense on the full-bodied palate. For my taste, it is lacking some acidity. Finish is one dimensional but deep.
July 28, 2019 - Deep ruby in the glass. Showing a combo of fresh and bottle aged notes on the nose - blackberry, plum, blackcurrant, tobacco, vanilla and cigar box. Hints of caramelized coffee. Dense, but not sweet. Complex, structured and balanced. A beautiful effort, drinking like a fine scotch. Goes awesomely well with bbq.
July 23, 2018 - Great Cabernet just starting to hit its stride. Blackberry, blackcurrant, some red berry notes, coupled with cedar oak and leather. Fine tannins across the palate. Finish still fruity. Under screwcap so will probably last an age.
May 12, 2018 - Blackcurrants, delicious, very soft with a long finish.
Drank with lamb ragu, but dish was a bit oily and spicy, so somewhat smothered the wine. It went much better with the lime and corriander chicken skewers
March 3, 2018 - Nice but not the wow factor I was expecting... Nice nose, quite complex with leather, brambles and a touch of earthy mint. Fruit driven but a little sweet and a fairly short finish...
December 17, 2017 - Excellent. Even with very little airing.
August 6, 2017 - Ditto ...
August 3, 2017 - Robe de couleur grenat foncé ... Nez sur le cuir, le chaume et la fumée ... Papilles sur la prune, les fruits noirs confits et le chocolat ... Longue finale ! ... Merci la vie ... 🤡
April 12, 2017 - I noticed a wine expert said this about this wine.
"A highly polished example of Barossa Cabernet, dominated by red fruit on the bouquet, and a healthy dose of new oak; the essence of the wine lies in the tightness of the palate; the ample fine-grained tannins and tangy acid pull the fruit to a long, fine and even conclusion."
Now i can't give it a 96, this review was done in 2010 so i think it was expected to hold it's own or improve till 2020.
I Can agree on a number of points.
yes plenty of oak
yes tight on the palate
yes tangy acidity
yes fine grained tannins.
Has this wine improved since 2010 ?
I say no.
It must be the same although i do detect the presence of alcohol starting to affect the fruit.
THis is a finely balanced wine and I would think 2020 is not that far off, so I will open another bottle in six months and then decide.
But at $90.00AU a bottle you don't want to be tipping this down the sink.
Have i tasted better ?
yes I have and for a far lesser price but still in the upper level .
At the moment I have to say it is very fine drinking and tight , yes that is the word, tight, by hell it's tight , but it is a very nice drop indeed.
As always the best of the best is best with just a dry biscuit and some classy mature cheese.