Bright plum in colour, Penfolds Bin 169 Cabernet Sauvignon displays delicate notes of mint and blackcurrant, with a more savory bouquet of semi-dried tomatoes and fruit chutney at the end. A hint of oak and spice adds extra warmth. On the palate a flavour-wheel of spearmint, milo powder, chocolate and black liquorice.
Bold and impressively styled, the wine shows black blueberry, violet, cured meat and toasty oak characters. The palate delivers excellent depth and persistency, wonderfully framed by layers of fine tannins. Flavoursome and delectably appealing.
With a long and tumultuous history in the Haut-Médoc, stretching all the way back to its classification as one of fourteen 3me crus in the 1855 Classification, the Chateau has been rescued from obscurity, sold from family to family and endured superbly, as this latest offering amply exhibits. Unique, vibrant, and deep in colour, the 2016 can proudly hold its head up among the best La Lagune releases of recent years. Intensely aromatic, with a supple, medium-bodied palate, it will benefit from four or five years in the cellar and give ample rewards for your patience.
Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon is the icon Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Named after Coonawarra pioneer, pastoralist and parliamentarian, John Riddoch, this Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the very best of Wynns vast planting in Coonawarra and it only made in the years that best express Wynns strive for excellence. Arguably richer and more complex from comparable styles in the region, John Riddoch Cabernet is highly sought after and extremely limited.
Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Small piece of Bordeaux trivia - Chateau Leoville-Barton has no chateau to speak of! In fact, all wines are made at its sister property, Chateau Langoa Barton, which is the storybook chateau pictured on the label. Once part of a much larger estate - in fact the largest in St Julien - Chateau Leoville-Barton has been under the ownership of the Barton family since 1722. In their hands, traditional winemaking techniques remain integral to production - certainly more so than many other modern Bordeaux estates. Leoville-Barton Bordeaux is famous for its traditional, beefy, and strapping style with an excellent reputation for ageing, making them particularly attractive additions to any wine cellar.
Dating back over 800 years in the Bordeaux region, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is owned today by Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The estate also features a world class spa, which specialises in Vinotherapie - using grape extracts in many of their treatments. Up until the year 2000, the estate was not known for producing top quality wines, however in the capable hands of the Cathiard family and after over a decade of hard work and reinvention, the wines truly began to come into their own. It has been, in the words of Andrew Caillard, an astonishing ascendancy in the past 15 years, and given the sterling reviews the 2016 vintage has received, its trajectory seems set to continue its meteoric rise.
CHATEAU SMITH-HAUT-LAFITTE Rouge Grand cru classe 2025