Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet, Frankland River

The prodigious Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon is another single vineyard articulation of cabernet in the Houghton stable. On this occasion, however, the fruit hails from the Justin Vineyard in Frankland, deep in the Great Southern. Planted in 1971, the vineyard’s original cuttings were derived from a fabled patch of Swan Valley fruit at the original Houghton site. A perennial favourite of the Langton’s Classification, this sturdy red is rated ‘Outstanding’ due to a name that communicates pedigree as much as a wine marked by tapenade, currant, sage, anise, lavender and mocha, rolling across the palate with such authority that its destiny is clear: complexity, length and an intensity worthy of the great winemaker for which it is named. Huon Hooke speaks in glowing terms, noting ‘a splendid cabernet that already shows complexity and promises to age superbly.