Cab.Sauvignon
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De Martino,
Drink now,
We are delighted to be working with the brilliant De Martino on this new addition to our range. The wine is surprisingly restrained, a nod to Bordeaux evident in its lean, focused character and fine, grainy tannins. This is, however, still full of fresh blackberry fruit with sweet black cherries completing the long yet refreshing finish. Perfect to pour straight away, this also has the gravitas to merit decanting – if you have the patience, that is.
Catriona Felstead MW, Wine Buyer
Catriona Felstead MW, Wine Buyer
Ready, but will keep,
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
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
Ready, but will keep,
Although this wine is classified as a “humble” Bordeaux Supérieur, its grower, Hervè Lhuillier, lavishes Grand Cru levels of care on its vines. This shows in the wine, which is incredibly sleek and polished for this level – a quality further enhanced by the generosity of the 2015 vintage. Lovely plum and cedar aromas are evident, and the wine is long, but not overdone. Overall, it’s a very impressive effort.
Sir Ian Botham,
Ready, but will keep,
This wine is a bin-end, discounted by 20%.
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
Waterford Estate,
Ready, but will keep,
Beautifully proportioned, this has fine-grained tannins, lively acidity and plenty of matter. Notes of cassis fruit and smoke lead to a dense and concentrated core of dark fruit. Delicious now, it will open up and evolve with time. This would pair well with grilled flat iron steak and other classic red meat dishes. Drink now to 2025.
Katherine Dart MW, Buyer (spring 2019)
Katherine Dart MW, Buyer (spring 2019)
Ready, but will keep,
This is distinctively Cabernet on the nose, with an attractive perfume of cassis and dark black berry fruits, as well as a subtle herbal top note. The tannins are powdery and firm, supporting the concentration and density on the palate. The length is extraordinary and the savoury finish delicious, inviting you to pour a second glass. Drink 2020-2035.
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (September 2019)
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (September 2019)
DeSante,
Ready, but will keep,
Katharine and David spend a day in the cooperage every vintage, making sure that the toasting is suited to the vintage conditions – just another example of their meticulous attention to detail. This cuvée is aged for 10 months in 50 percent new oak. The fruit comes entirely from Oakville. Despite being a trickier vintage, Desante has managed to obtain balance between the 14.5 percent alcohol, ripe fruit and chalky tannins. The wine offers cassis, liquorice, clove and ripe red-fruit aromas, with warm, spicy notes on the finish.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer
Antinori,
For laying down,
The 2014 Solaia will be released during the second half of 2017. This is a fine-tuned expression that shows a focused sense of detail and careful attention. The quota of Cabernet Franc has been upped by a hair and this makes a big difference, especially in terms of the wine's bouquet. Otherwise, this celebrated Tuscan blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with Sangiovese. It opens to dark fruit aromas with crushed mineral, pipe tobacco, pressed flower and toasted spice. Its appearance is midnight black and profound. The wine delivers a sense of sheer excitement and nervousness that will subside with another few years of bottle age. Nonetheless, I think a certain amount of that bright edginess or rigidness will always be part of this cool vintage Solaia. In the mouth, the wine is firm, compact and dense. The tannins are chiseled to the point of sublime integration. Marchesi Antinori made 40% less Solaia in this vintage in order to maintain the quality you taste here.
Monica Larner - 28/04/2017
Monica Larner - 28/04/2017
Penfolds,
Ready, but will keep,
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.
Hundred Acre Winery,
For laying down,
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard has a deep garnet color and nose of crème de cassis, blueberry compote and candied violets with hints of red roses, chocolate mint, stewed tea and yeast extract plus a hint of cumin. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, the palate is completely packed with spicy fruit, finishing with lingering earthy notes.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 07/12/2018
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 07/12/2018
Ready, but will keep,
The 1993 Ridge Monte Bello (already bottled) is a tightly-wrapped, densely-colored, pure, rich, full-bodied Cabernet with moderately intense aromas of vanilla, black-raspberries, currants, and minerals. This rich wine cuts a deep path on the palate, with high tannin, adequate acidity, and a long, muscular, formidably-endowed finish. Extremely unevolved and young, it needs 7-10 years of cellaring. When young, this wine rarely reveals its full potential. Having said that, the last three vintages of the Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon (1993, 1994, and 1995) are immensely impressive, with perhaps the 1994 the least expansive - for now.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 26/04/1996
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 26/04/1996
Promontory,
For laying down,
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
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
The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.
It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, although it performs particularly well on well-drained, low-fertile soils. It has small, dusty, black-blue berries with thick skins that produce deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with notable tannins. Its spiritual home is the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it thrives on the well-drained gravel-rich soils producing tannic wines with piercing blackcurrant fruits that develop complex cedarwood and cigar box nuances when fully mature.
The grape is widely planted in California where Cabernet Sauvignon based wines are distinguished by their rich mixture of cassis, mint, eucalyptus and vanilla oak. It is planted across Australia and with particular success in Coonawarra where it is suited to the famed Terra Rossa soil. In Italy barrique aged Cabernet Sauvignon is a key component in Super Tuscans such as Tignanello and Sassicaia, either on its own or as part of a blend with Sangiovese.