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The 2016 Lascombes has a decadent, but pure bouquet with layers of black cherry and blueberry fruit, the new oak conspicuous and (as usual) quite glossy and extroverted in style. The palate is very ripe with saturated tannin, bold and extravagant with a voluminous middle of blackberry, graphite and blue fruit. There is a powerful and heady finish; what it just lacks is finesse and that sense of personality.

Technical Director Thomas Duroux and his team made one of the most brilliant wines of the 2016 vintage. Palmer is simply exceptional.  Crafted with 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, this is rich and dramatically sweeping in the glass, the 2016 is breathtaking. All the elements simply fall into place in a wine of mesmerizing beauty. The counterpoint of dark, sumptuous fruit and floral notes makes for an utterly compelling Palmer that will take its place among the estate’s finest vintages. Dark cherry, lavender, spice and mocha are some of the many notes that build into a deep, substantial finish that is truly unforgettable. In a worDecanter: magnificent!

Aged for about a year in oak, the wine has a beautiful red burgundy dress with garnets notes. Fine and supple, this wine reveal on the palate a round and smooth body. Served at 16 degrees, it will be delicious to accompany cooked meats, roasted meat and grilled fish.

Deep-red colour with purple undertones. Both subtle and of great aromatic richness, the nose reveals a very nice balance between the maturity and freshness of the fruit and superb notes of fresh fruit and spices. Very elegant, ample and silky on the palate, it opens up with a spicy attack with aromas of “garrigue” then reveals, as on the nose, a perfect balance between its beautiful tannic richness and its delicate roundness. The very long finish suggests great potential.

Points: Decanter: 96Pts; Hudin.com: 96Pts; Jeff Leve: 95Pts; Owen Bargreen: 95Pts; Wine Spectator: 94Pts

The Abercrombie is Howard Park Wines finest Cabernet Sauvignon. In most years the wine is a blend of grapes sourced from the Abercrombie vineyard in Mount Barker and the Leston vineyard in Margaret River. our long term commitment to and passion for grape growing in the two major premium grape growing regions of Western Australia is reflected in this wine.

Named after Jeff Burch’s Great-Grandfather Walter Abercrombie, this Howard Park flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is noted for its outstanding structural complexity and exceptional elegance. It combines the austere dusty earth and blackcurrant aromas from Mount Barker, with the classic rich fruit and chocolaty palette of Margaret River. Together they produce an elegantly balanced Cabernet Sauvignon with mature ripe tannins backed up by quality French oak. Careful long term cellaring will realize this wine’s full potential. The 2016 was matured for 22 months in French barriques (60% new).

A powerful wine variety that makes arguably the world’s greatest Red Wines. Characters include blackcurrant, mint, leaf, eucalyptus and black olive with other nuances of cigar box, cedar, chocolate, tobacco, coffee and mocha. Best in moderately cool areas and generally blended with other Bordeaux varieties (Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc). The flagship ‘Abercrombie’ Cabernet Sauvignon is renowned to be one of the best and most collected Cabernets in Australia.

James Halliday: 96Pts; Ralph Kyte-Powell: 96Pts; Huon Hooke: 95Pts; The Wine Front: 92Pts; Jeremy Oliver: 91Pts

Langton Classification: Outstanding (The best of Australian winemaking practices, vineyard provenance and regional voice)

A blend of 54% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored, 2017 Palmer gives a very serious nose of pronounced blackcurrant cordial, warm plums and blackberry preserves with hints of cedar chest, pencil shavings, violets, dark chocolate and star anise plus exotic wafts of sandalwood and cassia. Medium-bodied, the palate features fantastically vibrant, crunchy black fruits with a firm texture of ripe, grainy tannins and tons of freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced. It will need a good 5-7 years to really blossom with all those tightly wound nuances, but it should be a stunner! 

The 2016 Angelus is composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, aged 18 to 22 months in new barrels and foudres. Deep garnet-purple colored, it drifts effortlessly out of the glass with sensuous notes of lavender, candied violets, garrigue, Ceylon tea and iron ore with a core of warm black cherries, mulberries, ripe plums and aniseed plus wafts of cedar chest and cloves. Medium to full-bodied, the perfumed fruit whispers of great intensity and depth, with the vivacious fruit well knit into the plush, seductive frame of velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. Still very tightly wound with amazing tension at this stage, it truly needs a good 6-8 more years in bottle to deliver the fully expressed layers that this soft-spoken, profound beauty promises.

The 2016 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is another second wine that tastes more like a grand vin. Made from 51.3% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it too is deeply colored and has a classic Haut Brion bouquet of minerals, crushed rocks, cassis, graphite, and violet. With medium to full-bodied richness, good concentration, building tannins, and impeccable balance, it’s more supple and sexy that it’s big brother yet still has the balance, structure, and depth to keep for two decades. It’s a stunning wine in its own right.

This Rosé is crafted from a classic Bordeaux blend  (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot) and reveals a very pale pink color, delicate and brilliant with bright reflections. Intense and radiant nose of red berries a little acidic where mixes some spicy and mineral aromas reminiscent of the great origin of gravelly soil. On the palate, roundness and suppleness enveloping the fruity, refreshing and spicy acidity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Its precision and sharpness accompany a long finish, complex and tart, reminiscent of the aromas of the nose. The whole is well balanced with a lot of lightness.

‘Buio Buio’ is is deep ruby red in color withcherry highlights. There are complex aromas of red berry fruit and blossoms, balsamic notes, and hints of spices and new oak on the nose. It is rich, full-bodied and well-balanced on the palate with elegant tannins and a long, lingering finish. Pairs well with first courses of game, red meat stews, and aged cheeses.

Wine Enthusiast: 91Pts; Decanter: 90Pts

Robert Parker: 100Pts; Falstaff: 100Pts; The Wine Cellar Insider: 100Pts; Wine Spectator: 97Pts; James Suckling: 97Pts

Composed of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, yields for the grand vin in 2017 were 43 hectoliters per hectare, and it was aged in 60% new oak. It came in at an alcohol of 13% and an IPT of 68. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Cos d’Estournel needs a little coaxing to unfurl, revealing beautiful expressions of preserved plums, boysenberries, blackcurrant pastilles and wild blueberries with hints of Indian spices, menthol, lilacs and mossy tree bark plus a compelling suggestion of iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness supporting the tightly wound blue and black fruits layers, finishing long and fragrant. This wine will need a good 5-7 years in bottle before it begins to blossom and should go on for at least another 40 years. I expect this wine to be a blockbuster of a head-turner when I come back and taste it at 10 years of age!