Bright ruby with vibrant crimson hues, showing excellent clarity and youthful energy. The nose is vibrant and lifted, opening with intense blackcurrant, dark cherry and violet layered with cedar, fragrant spice and subtle earthy complexity. On the palate this is medium-bodied yet remarkably intense and precise. Earthy, fine-grained tannins and a beautifully flowing structure carry pure red cherry and plum fruit through a seamless mid-palate, while vibrant acidity provides superb tension and precision. The finish is long, refined and incredibly persistent with outstanding fruit clarity, integration and layered complexity. For a nine-year-old wine, you wouldn’t normally see such ‘red cherry’ freshness, and I’d put that down to a cooler vintage providing more precise acidity. A standout Cabernet Malbec blend that marries the structure and elegance of Bordeaux with exceptional vibrancy, personality and Clare Valley character. Outstanding wine.

Vino Masters Score: 97/100
★★★★★ Exceptional vibrancy, refinement and balance, a true standout.

A 90/10% blend. The ultra-retro label might lead you to think the Eastern Ranges label is of greater importance/quality. Well, this is by a large margin the better wine. It is full-bodied, the fruit overflowing , the malbec playing a positive role in putting fleshy fruit wherever and whenever the cabernet missed a beat. I just don't get the label.

Kind of strange labels here, perhaps requiring a little penance and self-flagellation, but a very good wine, which should ease the guiltiest of consciences. I’d rather see Sam Barry in a cowl on the label of future bottlings, which would give it more of a jolly monk kind of vibe. Cabernet and Malbec are emphatically the two best grape varieties for the Clare Valley.

It’s has a wet earth and very ‘mineral’ pencil sort of feel, blackcurrant and plum, aniseed and dried rose. Medium-bodied, tense and tightly-knit, some raspberry in with the plum, a serious and dry feel, and a long cool finish. It’s such a stylish and sophisticated wine. Distinct claret character too.

There’s a very taut feel to this wine that offers a fragrant nose with abundant red plums and a wealth of mulberries and boysenberries. The palate has a very silky, glossy and succulent feel with gentle oak spice played into dark plums. A blend of cabernet sauvignon and malbec. Drink or hold. Screw cap.