5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot. All the good things. I tasted a 2021 Coleraine the other day, and in many ways, this wine echoes that one. And last year I opened an 18 MM alongside an 18 Coleraine, and it was the same kind of thing. Obviously they are different, and yet, they have a kinship. I think it’s to do with this restrained intensity, acid and tannin balance, and quintessential Cabernet blend perfume. Just an observation really. If you’re feeling flush, you should try it yourself some day. I can pretty much guarantee you won’t have a bad time.

The pencils and the perfume, crushed small berries, essence-like in a way, with tobacco and a little crushed leaf. It’s medium-bodied, tense and so controlled, firm graphite tannin, a clean cranberry crunch to acidity etches it so finely, and the finish is floral, stony and supremely long. Frisson and finesse. It’s a magnificent wine, and one for the ages

Mount Mary Quintet Cabernet Blend Yarra Valley 2021

Deep crimson in colour followed by a compact and concentrated unashamedly claret stye with structure, fruit focus and longevity keys to its success. Robust blackberry, blackcurrant fruits to start well supported by spicy oak, then building with mulberry and graphite nuances. The palate is then dry, firm, bright and concentrated retaining youthful vitality with ironstone laced berry fruits supported by a rich bed of grainy tannins, with dried herbs to finish. A muscular, strong armed vintage with dense fruit and structure, built for the long-term.

Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard blend, Wrattonbully 2020

Medium to deep ruby colour with purple tinges. The bouquet is oaky and pungent, with some camphor and mint-eucalypt forest overtones, the palate a bit rasping and astringent when first poured, with the flavours turning to polished leather, red fruits lurking largely obscured beneath. It needs time to mellow and soften. There is richness and concentration here, and a very long carry. (52% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 24% cabernet franc)

Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard blend, Wrattonbully 2020