Secret Wine - #HMVCS14 | McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Top secret, top shelf wines at bargain prices. Winery is redacted, label is redacted, but find vital intel below.

Style / Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: McLaren Vale, SA
ABV: 14.0%

Singe (1x 750ml)
$65 / bottle (RRP $150 / 56% off)

3 Pack (3x 750ml)
$50 / bottle (RRP $150 / 66% off)

Bottle Briefings

Score: 95pts
Intel: "From block 208, contour planted in '73; destemmed and some lightly crushed, with 21 days on skins; matured in 100% new French oak for 15 months. This is showing some maturity but still has fruit-forward notes and a lifted perfume, with tobacco, green peppercorns, tomato leaf and bay, along with Worcestershire sauce, crème de cassis, blackberry and currants. Tannins are still impactful, with more time, no doubt, bringing even more rewards."
Asset: Halliday Wine Companion (Marcus Ellis)

Score: 95pts
Intel: "From a contoured vineyard planted in 1973. Released as a 10-year-old. Matured in 100% new French oak. There are hay and cedarwood characters here, which help give the flavour profile some spread, but essentially the fruit here has soaked up its oak in the best of ways. This is an impressive 10-year-old wine. It tastes of fresh boysenberry, blackcurrant, decayed leaves, blonde tobacco and an array of secondary characters, leather and tangerine, earth and game. What’s really noticeable about this wine is the way it opens up in the glass; it starts off well, but it really blossoms as it breathes in the most wondrous of ways. It’s a gem of a wine, without question."
Asset: Campbell Mattinson

Score: 95pts
Intel: "Full brick-red colour with a tawny edge, showing its maturity; the bouquet is very mellow and complex, with roasting-pan aromas that belie lavish oak treatment. Truffle notes also appear, and there are intense red fruit flavours throughout the long palate, which is lively and vital. Delicious wine, the maturing of bottle-age has reaped rewards. A lovely glass of wine, ready to enjoy now but has quite a few years to go. Old-school and very well rendered."
Asset: Huon Hooke