Mount Mary Quintet Cabernet Blend 2016

46% cabernet sauvignon, 26% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, 5% malbec, 3% petit verdot, separately vinified and matured in French oak (35% new) for 18-22 months before blending and bottling. The ultimate Bordeaux blend, both in theory and reality. Almost butterfly wing transparency, yet compelling intensity and length, the flavours spanning cassis to blueberry to plum and blackcurrant, all with a textured backing. 97PTS and Special Value Wine ★ James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion.

A different wine to the (relatively) throaty 2015, but not a lesser one. Such perfume. Such finesse. It’s a flat out joy to smell, and to taste. Violets, cedar, red and black fruits, tobacco, pencils, marzipan and aniseed. Just into medium-bodied, well-etched and sure-footed, much like the kitten, who’s tongue the tannin sports. Delightful flavour of small red (mainly) and black berries, deft and precise, with a finish that’s long and crisp, which leaves no doubt about the quality of this wine. Line and length. Fragrance and poise. Subtle, yet thoroughly persuasive. Gentle rasp of tannin cleans the mouth. It’s a rare bird, this Cabernet. 97PTS Gary Walsh, The Wine Front.