Brand’s Laira Blockers Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

This is serious Cabernet at a very “drink-me-now” price. Ripe blackcurrant, plum jam, and dense, rich, black forest cake filled with fresh cherry coulis fruits, and lots of sweet baking spice from some time in oak. At five years old it’s showing some lovely complexity with forest floor, bay leaves and plump Kalamata olives – subtle, but hinting at what’s ahead. Rich and silky on the palate, the fruit is a little fresher here. Cabernet Sauvignon can sometimes be divisive with austere tannins. Not this time –  some bottle age and careful handling has yielded ripe, savoury tannins that are drinking beautifully now and will allow for further cellaring. Drink with roast sirloin and crunchy rosemary crusted potatoes.