Not one for the cellar, unlike the Barwang Cabernet Sauvignon, but a wine that usually offers a great deal of early drinking pleasure. It does so with this release until it stumbles, agonisingly, at the last hurdle.
Juicy upfront blackberry and purple fruit with a lick of choc/vanilla oak, some licorice and a pinch of spice. It’s lipsmacking until the back-palate adds a distracting amount of grape-seed like bitterness which bleeds into the tannin, causing an astringent sensation. Such a shame. Perhaps many won’t notice it but it loses marks all the same. 87 Average – Good
Region: Hilltops
Alcohol: 14.0%
Closure Screwcap
Price: $20.99
Tasted: February 2013