Cab.Sauvignon

This wine, awarded a gold medal at the Concours Général Agricole in Paris, is everything one could want from a Bordeaux Supérieur. It’s a blend of Merlot (70 percent), the Cabernets (Franc and Sauvignon) and Malbec (all 30 percent), made by Hervé Lhuillier, the fourth-generation owner of Ch. Fleur Haut Gaussens.

Hervé achieves remarkable consistency year on year, but still manages to capture the characteristics of the vintage: his ’14 is delicately perfumed, with an array of dark fruit aromas, and shows crisp acidity yet sufficiently supple tannins to be uncorked now. Six months in new oak might overwhelm a lesser Bordeaux Supérieur, but are just right in this case, contributing extra complexity to the nose and roundness to the palate. A truly marvellous accompaniment to roast beef, lamb or venison.
Will Heslop, Wine Buyer

Three quarters of the fruit for this wine comes from the Two Blondes vineyard, the rest from Champoux. One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, it sees no new oak, but spends 14 months in older barrels. It offers classic Cabernet aromas of cassis and black cherry with attractive sweet spice and herbal notes. It has a firm, powdery tannin profile with vibrant acidity and density on the mid-palate.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer

Until 21st January this product is discounted by 40 percent. Price shown includes saving.*
DeSante is a small grower and their Cabernet comes from the prestigious Oakville area within the Napa Valley, home to some of the most highly regarded and sought-after wines in California. I love this Cabernet: although it displays the typical generosity and power of a Napa Cabernet, there is a purity and elegance that defines the wine and makes it incredibly accessible. Wines of this quality can be rather expensive and unaffordable, but DeSante – who make only 1,000 cases in total – really deliver with this wine, both in terms of price and quality.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer (winter 2018)

*Discount is already applied to the single-bottle price and no further discount will be applied at checkout. 

Classic Coonawarra Cabernet, cool blackcurrant fruit with a hint of mint. Lovely intensity. Tannins are fine and well-integrated, good depth across the palate with an attractive ‘juiciness’ to the fruit. Silky and feels very complete already, the benefit of releasing to the market with some bottle age. This is a very fine but generous Cabernet, simply a very impressive wine which will age beautifully (but there’s no need to wait!) Drink 2019 – 2026+
Martyn Rolph, Private Account Sales Manager
 
The aromas immediately announce the variety, displaying intense characters of blackcurrant, red berry, black olive and a subtle hint of menthol.  Combined with the nutty oak aromas, this wine delivers a complex yet elegant bouquet.
The palate of this wine has a perfectly aligned structure, weight and intensity creating a backbone for longevity.  The aromas on the nose follow through onto the palate and these full bodied, spicy flavours combined with pin point acidity and firm, grainy tannins deliver a wine of stature and grace.  This wine will continue to develop in complexity and interest for as long as you can manage to cellar it.
Winemakers Note

The 2011 Monte Bello (87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc) emerges from the glass with tobacco, grilled herbs, smoke, incense and plums melding together in this soft, beautifully textured Monte Bello. The 2011 is a wine of exceptional textural finesse. The 100% new oak is totally integrated. In 2011, Ridge used a total of 18 of a possible 24 lots for the final blend. The presence of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon is the highest since the 1980s. I expect the 2011 to be a relatively early drinking Monte Bello, but time will be the judge.
Antonio Galloni - Wine Advocate - Issue#202 Aug 2012

In contrast to Bin 707, Bin 169 is the expression of the fruit and terroir from one single region, Coonawarra, perhaps the region more closely associated with Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia than any other. Matured for 14 months in new French oak, contemporary style showing both regionality and maturation of Cabernet Sauvignon in fine grained French oak. Until 31st August 2017 this product is discounted by 20%. Prices shown include discount; no further discount will be applied at checkout.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple colored with a mind-blowingly gorgeous nose that defies words: warm cassis, red roses, sandalwood, Indian spices, crushed rocks, menthol and iron ore with waft of lilacs and truffles. Medium to full-bodied with a rock-solid frame of super-ripe, grainy tannins and tons of freshness, it finishes incredibly long and remains incredibly provocative.
Robert Parker 

Brilliant energy from rich dense fruit and spicy floral tones on the nose. Blueberry, blackcurrant, strawberry – fresh and floral at the same time as rich, with cigar box, pepper and beautiful clove spiciness. Just a hint of something savoury underneath. The precision and purity on the palate will make you smile! Perfectly judged line of acidity to the vibrant fruit. Full bodied, powerful, and not overbearing at all, this is a joy to drink now, but will surely be at its best in another 10 years. Those that argue Cabernet is King would do well to show this to any non-believers.
Ben Grosvenor, Private Account Manager.

Reticent and tight at first on the nose, the wine opens up to reveal dark, small-berried cassis fruit, fruits of the forest and wet stone. The palate is the essence of power and elegance, like a giant slalom skier – elegant, suave in form, yet with great power and strength. The palate is full of minerality, with black and red fruit, and an iron or pepper-like spiciness. This has great acidity at the front and tensile tannins – ripe yet tight and huge, boding very well for its future development. One can almost see the remoteness and wildness of this unique vineyard, in terms of the wine’s strength and brooding darkness, yet at the same time an almost effortless, wistful, cerebral quality. For me, it has a distinct personality and sense of place, hints of Napa in the fruit and yet the structure reminded me of the strength and iron core so often found in the likes of Ch. Latour versus its other First Growth Bordeaux peers. Much like some of the world’s finest and most complex wines, this is a wine made on the edge of what is possible, truly expressive of its surroundings, opening and closing over its evolution, flirting with perfection. It’s something very special. It’ll be hard to resist over the next few years, but this has the stuffing to last very easily over the next decade or so. Drink 2027-35+.
Stuart Rae, Fine Wine Commercial Manager 

Returning to my original tasting notes, it is clear I must have been utterly captivated by the 2012 Promontory. Descriptors referencing black forest gâteaux, macerated blueberries and baking spices of all kind were scribbled with haste to capture the character of the wine before the next intriguing layer unfurled. On reflection, my initial excitement remains palpable, what a truly glorious offering. The precision and purity on the nose is remarkable, a crystalline clarity like you’re smelling in high definition, there’s lots of everything but not too much of anything. Cherry and blackcurrant fruit is rich and dense, but held in check by granite and cool stone. Left in the glass, a cooling freshness persists. So fine is the interplay of lustrous berries and svelte, silky tannins that, for a red of such grand proportions, it seems almost refreshing. All before a finish that lasts an age. Outstanding and a real joy to drink, an experience any wine lover should aspire to.
Jared Ehret, Private Account Manager