Inviting melange of plush and plump black and red berry fruits, blueberries, spice and chocolate on the nose. Those same fruits and flavours glide seamlessly from the nose onto the palate. There’s a subtle note of fennel or anise but with rich black cherry and plum notes adding succulence. Reigning in this abundance is a frame of oak and tannin which provides a gentle, muscular squeeze. Textured, rich and rounded but elegantly robust, there’s a beautiful complexity and breadth to this wine. The cocoa powder nuance is present in the long, tapered finish. One made for cellaring but also for immediate enjoyment.
Ripe black berry fruits, licorice and a trace of florality can be found on the nose. The palate offers up those same plush, ripe black berries, cherry and licorice along with a deeper, dark herb and earthy element. The sensation is one of dryness, almost a perception of being lean and austere but that’s because the wine is still tightly furled and reined in. It’s supple, sinewy, succulent and rewarding with the fruit and oak seamlessly meshed. The grip is firm without being forceful or too bold or muscular. A wine that needs time to show its true beauty.
Rich Christmas pudding with spice and a hint of dried flowers on the nose. The palate offers instant appeal in its warm, smooth, richly fruited entry. Lovely interplay of flavour and texture – dark chocolate, blueberries, a touch of liquorice and dried herbs set against an earthy depth and integrated frame of polished oak.
Layered nose of inviting tea leaf, violets, dark Christmas cake and black cherries. The palate is also layered, rich with those same elements – Christmas cake sumptuousness vying with brewed tea, tomato leaf and spicy, cedary hints from time in barrel. Seductive, plush and elegantly refined but with a muscular power lurking deep down, this is an impressive, structured but rewarding wine. The integration of wood and fruit is impressive and it is beautifully balanced and long. The aftertaste lingers.
Bold spicy plum pudding, black cherry and dark chocolate aromatics. The palate is all about texture: rounded, plush and lissom – but with a vibrant spicy edge. The rich, ripe plum and dark fruit promised by the nose is delivered in the mouth, along with deep cocoa powder and chocolate flavour. Alluring and more serious than it initially appears, the wine has stature and presence courtesy of its time in barrel. Yet the oak doesn’t dominate, it’s seamlessly integrated and fine, lending layers and complexity. Lovely length of flavour.
Tendrils of spice add nuance and allure to a nose packed with black berries, hedgerow fruit and some mocha notes. The palate is plush, rounded and pillowy but layered with dark fruitcake flavour, black cherry, baking spice and pencil shavings too. The mouthfeel is complemented by its overall stature and regal refinement. Balanced with seamless integration of oak and ripe, rich fruit with lovely succulence and freshness as well. Complex, supple and silky smooth, the wine is ultimately simply delicious with a superbly long tail.
Tendrils of spice add nuance and allure to a nose packed with black berries, hedgerow fruit and some mocha notes. The palate is plush, rounded and pillowy but layered with dark fruitcake flavour, black cherry, baking spice and pencil shavings too. The mouthfeel is complemented by its overall stature and regal refinement. Balanced with seamless integration of oak and ripe, rich fruit with lovely succulence and freshness as well. Complex, supple and silky smooth, the wine is ultimately simply delicious with a superbly long tail.
Appealing spicy plum and dark fruit compote aromas, perfumed and seductive. The palate entry is supple, smoothly rounded and comforting. Once again, the rich and ripe plum, blackberry and blueberry fruit are apparent. It doesn’t stop there, with pepper, herbs and an earthiness mingling with a cigar box and spice nuance. The ease and approachability are something of a disguise, as the wine has grip and muscular power in abundance. Harmonious and somewhat deceptive integrated oak adds to the impression of effortless ease, yet the wine remains poised, rich, rewarding and complex.
