Robert Oatley The Pennant Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Any day one gets to drink a flagship Margaret River Cabernet is a good day. This one hails from the renowned Wilyabrup sub-region. The grapes are put across a special individual berry sorting table, going from there to small vessels for fermentation on skins for up to six weeks. Fifteen months maturation follows, in ‘tight-grained, low toast, new and one-year-old French oak’. The final blend is a barrel selection. Dark maroon in colour, this is still youthful. The nose is an appealing mix of intensity and elegance, with some early complexity already evident. Roast meats, dry herbs, tobacco leaves, black fruits. There is even an alluring hint of blueberries if one looks closely. Silky, supple, very fine if ever-so-slightly grainy tannins. A wine of grace and power that is finely balanced, very long and with a fine line of saline acidity driving the wine. A stunning Cabernet which will easily give pleasure for a decade and more (during which time, the score could easily rise further).