2004 ««««« Drink now to 2038.
Medium-deep crimson. Intense dark chocolate and blackcurrant aromas with dried leafy herb garden notes. Generous, ripe and expressive with cassis and praline flavours, fine grainy/grippy tannins and integrated acidity. Attractive mid-palate richness and a firm chalky dry walnut-like finish. Minerally in style with attractive density and weight.
An elegant yet intensely flavoured style with penetrating pure fruits and fine silky tannins. Plenty of density and supportive structure to last the distance. (NB)
Showing more black fruit characters and a notable olive tapenade edge. Slightly hollow through the mid-palate. (NR)
2005 ««« Drink now to soon.
Medium-deep crimson. Reaching its peak now with developed blackcurrant, dark plum, sage characters and dark chocolate cigar-box notes. Dense and richly flavoured with chalky-firm tannins and integrated oak. Harmonious wine but with limited potential to improve.
2006 «««« Drink now to 2036.
Medium-deep crimson. Fragrant violet and blackcurrant aromas with dark chocolate and mocha notes. A dense and weighty wine with blackcurrant, dark chocolate and chinotto flavours and plentiful al dente, leafy textures. Finishes firm and minerally long. Should improve with age. Predominantly Robe fruit.
Not showing overt varietal character at first, but it soon opens up to reveal red earth, bay leaf and eucalypt. (NR)
Ripe blackberry, cedar, cocoa and notes of tobacco. A bigger wine with a hefty structure but the tannins are quite fine even though a bit grippy. (FW)
2007 ««« Drink now to 2030.
Medium-deep crimson. Dark chocolate, mocha and ripe cassis/blackberry aromas with vanilla notes. Attractive inky textured wine with deep-set cassis, blackberry, praline and espresso notes and long fresh grippy tannins. Finishes leafy firm.
A very lifted floral cabernet nose. It s still impressive with an imposing structure and vice-like tannins. Not as abundant or intense as the 2004, 2005 and 2006 but there is a glimmer of hope that it might come around. (NB)
Claret in style; a cabernet lover s wine. (JH)
2008 «««« Drink now to 2032.
Medium-deep crimson. Fresh cassis and slightly mentholated dark chocolate with graphite notes. Ample and generous with cassis, leaf and lead pencil flavours, fine chocolaty textures, underlying vanilla oak and inky complexity. Easy drinking wine with sinewy notes. Wrattonbully fruit first appears in this vintage.
Opulent ripe crushed blackcurrants and forward chewy tannins. Four squared with great typicity and a long life ahead. (FW)
Generous and flavourful wine with cassis, fine-grained tannins and integrated oak. (JH)
2009 «««« Drink now to 2034.
Medium-deep crimson. Cranberry and cassis aromas with cola and herb garden notes. Cranberry, cassis and herb garden/sage flavours, fine loose-knit gritty tannins and roasted walnut notes. Finishes leafy firm. On the cusp of ripeness with dried rose and dried leafy notes pervading throughout.
A classical varietal voice with dark, ripe and gently spicy cassis fruits and fine-grained slightly powdery tannins. (NB)
Polished and perfumed with pastille fruit and blackberry leaf notes, ample richness and very fine, dusty tannins. (NR)
2010 ««««« Drink now to 2045.
Medium-deep crimson. Fresh blackcurrant, mulberry, herb garden and sage aromas with aniseed notes. A rich and substantial wine with deep-set cassis and dark chocolate flavours, dense chocolaty and slightly al dente tannins and underlying roasted chestnut and vanilla oak. Finishes firm with leafy notes. A classic Penfolds cabernet sauvignon.
A graceful wine with cassis, floral, spicy notes, juicy elements and elegant slightly grippy tannins. Lovely finesse. (JR)
Forward ripe blackcurrant, cocoa and mocha aromas. Big and powerful but the tannins are balanced by the warmth and generosity of fruit. (FW)
2011 ««« Drink now to soon.
Medium-deep colour. Intense blackberry, blueberry and praline aromas with meaty, roasted chestnut, tobacco leaf notes. A hint of mint. A Claret-like style with blackberry, cassis, cedar characters and fine-grained graphite/rusty tannins. Finishes muscular firm with long persistent flavours. A fascinating vintage.
2012 «««« Drink now to 2035.
Medium-deep crimson. Expressive leafy cassis with graphite, bitumen and tobacco leaf notes. Well-concentrated leafy cassis, blackcurrant and mulberry fruits, fine-grainy leafy tannins, roasted walnut and toasty vanilla notes. Finishes sappy firm but the fruit richness compensates well.
Very intense spice and tobacco notes with a real gentleness and sweetness to the tannins. The mild acid resonance on the finish highlights the overall excellence in structure. (NB)
Lives up to expectations with its varietal blackcurrant bay leaf aromas and positive fine-grained tannins. (JH)
2013 ««« Drink now to 2030.
Medium-deep crimson. Violet, blackcurrant aromas with attractive cedar complexity. Lovely blackcurrant plum flavours, fine chocolaty but vigorous tannins and underlying savoury oak. Finishes firm and tight but long and sweet. An enjoyable wine as long as the fruit sticks around.
Very flavourful but not as weighty or as balanced as other wines in this series. (JR)
Firm, tight, sinewy and long with plentiful dark fruits, olive and sage. Chewy with rippling flesh reinforced with forthright tannins. (NR)
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