2022 Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

Open and deep from the get go, with notes of ironstone minerals, plum, warm earth, graphite and warm gravel. There's a whir of ferrousness and lashings of brown spice, too. A good swirl of the glass unlocks bay leaf, cacao powder and blackcurrant. Some mulberry then emerges adding sweet lift as a foil to the dark and savoury opening. This is deeply alluring and classy in its presence, complexity and mineral detail. The palate is both powerful and elegant with a cut and lift of mineral tension. Vibrant plum and mulberry fruits meld with ironstone minerality, coffee grinds, earth. The tannins are fine grained and seamless, and a wash of plum-laced acidity slices and cleanses the back palate to incredbily long and poised length. An incredbile wine, with the mineral finesse and complexity reaffirming this as one of Margaret River's most iconic wines.

The 2022 Diana Madeline is a succulent, powerful, muscular iteration of this vineyard, in what was a warm and excellent season in Margaret River. Raspberry, cocoa nib, iodine, licorice/aniseed, kelp and a burst of fresh ocean air. This is a spectacular wine; it straddles the divide of warm season/ripe fruit yet retains some characteristics of cooler season/nuanced spice. The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec that matured for 14 months in 55% new French oak. 13.3% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Full screwcapped bottle just 1,142 g as part of the  Margaret River Lightweight Glass Packaging Charter . 76% Sauvignon Blanc and 24% Semillon from Wilyabrup. Matured in 74% new French oak for six months. Certified organic. Not immediately obvious as a Sauvignon on the nose, which may be a good thing! So much more complex than any Sauvignon-dominant wine I have come across. This is a wine with a story! A beginning, middle and end. Floral notes – a pretty wine – with only moderate alcohol and acidity, and the promise of food friendliness. Builds gently towards the emphatic, long finish. Extremely subtle at this point. A wine you would pass over quickly if you knew nothing about the producer.  This developed considerably in the bottle over several days. It's not cheap, but it's certainly different! (JR)