Houghton Gladstones Cabernet Sauvignon is a wonderful example of well established wineries in the Western Australian wine scene with access to some amazing vineyards sites within the Margaret River. On show here are marvelous aromas and flavours of bay leaf, black tea and some spicy mocha notes. Excitingly dense on palate with harmonious oak balance and impressive acidity. A brilliant wine.

The Tally sits comfortably in the company of Australia's greatest Cabernets. Massive fruit tannin to pucker your lips, dripped over deep luscious varietal fruits with some of the world's finest French Oak to complement. Any lover of Cabernet Sauvignon is neglecting their education if they have not had a bottle!

Chateau Lascombes is a second grand cru classé of Margaux, renowned for producing perfumed elegant wines which gain greater depth and complexity with cellaring. The 118 ha vineyard of the Chateau is one of the largest and most fragmented in the area with plots spread across the Margaux appellation. Plantings comprise 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot anchored predominantly on gravel, clay and sand soils. The wine is vinified in a combination of wood and stainless steel vats and then aged in 80% new French oak barriques for 18 months. Serious investment both in the vineyard and winery has led to a notable renaissance in quality in recent years.

La Dominique is a Grand Cru Classe growth of Saint-Émillion, leading the way in many fields of modernisation and innovation amongst the chateaux of Bordeaux. Owner Clement Fayat has spent decades on improving everything from vinification facilities, to drainage, to the cellars, to a bright red (and controversially visible from a distance) vat house completed in 2013. Benefitting (similarly to their famous neighbours, Ch. Cheval Blanc) from a proximity to Pomerol, La Dominique produces Merlot-led wines that combine vigour and elegance.

This is the second wine of La Mission Haut-Brion. About 4000 cases are produced each year.

Still very youthful, the quality French oak riding high in the saddle. This is a wine of excellent quality, ticking every box. Its texture and balance are admirable, the varietal character likewise.

Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc & petit verdot. An unambiguously classy wine, its quality established by the first whiff, and confirmed by the super elegant, medium bodied palate. All the cabernet cassis/blackcurrant you could wish for floats along the mouth with the other members of the Bordeaux family in respectful support. Lovely wine.