Xanadu Fusion Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits vibrant, characteristic aromas of ripe blackcurrants, dark berry fruits, and black plums entwined with savoury hints of bay leaf and spicy, toasty oak. The full-bodied palate is packed full of juicy fruits of the forest, cassis and mocha flavours. A generous wine, with a solid tannin structure and fleshy fruit characters which persist through to a warm, lingering finish.

S.R.S. stands for Sub Regional Series. Carefully selected individual grape varieties that excel within a certain sub-region. These wines represent the very best varietal wines under the Flametree label and will only be made in the best vintages, volumes will be small and availability very limited. Exceptional in quality, complexity and finesse. It shows all the perfume and structure that make Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon wines so famous. Lifted blackberries, mulberry, plums, earth and dark chocolate dominate the nose and palate at this early stage. Whilst showing plenty of inky dark fruits, violets and bitter chocolate. The palate also displays wonderful fruit and oak tannin, the result of 16 months oak maturation.

Kendall-Jackson from the Sonoma County, just north of San Francisco, make a delicious Pinot Noir that has iIntense strawberry/black cherry/smoky/herb garden aromas and flavours with soft fleshy textures and underlying savoury/toasty oak.

Murphy-Goode Pinot Noir comes from vineyards up and down the coast of California, including Arroyo Seco, Santa Maria Valley, and Monterey. Cool conditions in these prime growing spots keep grapes at a perfect balance between vibrant dark fruit character and bright acidity. Notes of vanilla from aging in French and American oak add complexity to the intense black cherry aromas and flavours.

I am so excited about Californian wine production - it’s always a thrill to see these wines on our shores. This is pinot with power - smokey and meaty at the fore, which gives way to a dried cherry and pink flower potpourri and sweet baking spice. On the palate it’s silky smooth and delightfully shapely with some punchy acidity give the wine real get-up-and-go. This isn’t so much lithe and supple as it is round in the mouth; almost (but not quite) enough to be stepping outside the bounds of varietal typicity. Structured and bold but ethereal none the less.

Grosset Gaia Cabernet is one distinguished CabernetBring it on! By Gaia standards, its plump and plush with sweet fruit, rich dark chocolate and tannin presence. Gaia is always a wonderful long-term cellaring option, as is the case with the '08, but this vintage the added bonus of up front fruit enables immediate enjoyment.

The 2010 Chateau d'Issan is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, showing 'classic Margaux' in its perfume, finesse and apparent elegance. Soils are gravel and clay, which contributes to the high-tones of perfume from the wine, and though an estate that is neccesarily clawing its way back to a higher profile, is doing so with deeds in bottle over showmanship. On its side, the vineyard is dense with older vines that naturally offer lower yields, allowing for a higher quality of fruit for the winemaking team, in turn producing a wine of stellar quality from 2010.