"Replacing the Petit Chapelle cuvee and first made in 2015, the 2016 Hermitage La Maison Bleue is smoking good. Black fruits, charcoal, powdered rock, currants and chocolate notes all give way to a big, concentrated, impressively structures barrel sample that has tons of potential. I expect the tannin will have integrated by the time this is released, but a few years of bottle age still recommended." - Jeb Dunnuck

This wine is acclaimed as one of Australia’s finest Cabernets since Joe Grilli of Primo Estate released the first vintage in 1987. To create the JOSEPH Moda, Joe combines Aussie know-how with his traditional Italian winemaking by air drying the finest McLaren Vale fruit on shaded outdoor racks for two weeks prior to crushing. The fruit is concentrated so that it loses around 15% of its weight. This inspired use of the Italian Amarone technique creates an opulent, brooding wine. All fruit is hand harvested and sorted from Primo Estate's dry grown vineyards in McLaren Vale and Clarendon. The wine is aged in new French and American oak barriques for 20 months to create a subtle layering - mocha, cinnamon, vanilla and cedar streaks ripple through the palate; the considerable tannins are saturated by the sheer lushness of flavour.

France's Bordeaux, is the spiritual home of the Cabernet family of grapes, which extends beyond Sauvignon and Franc to Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. If you love Margaret River Cabernet blends, or indeed the Merlot dominant reds of Hawkes Bay, NZ, then you must look at the wines upon which many of them have been modelled. This wine is Cabernet and Merlot, deep and rich, cassis and earthy cedar, structure and uncommon length - all hallmarks of Grand Cru Bordeaux.