2017 Eric Stevens Purbrick Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2017 Eric Stevens Purbrick Cabernet Sauvignon is a distinctly savory rendition of this wine. On the nose, fresh leather, bramble, resin and tobacco leaf mingle with oak, cedar, mulberry and salted licorice. A lovely wine, and a wine of place, but it has a similar shape through the finish as the 2004, which tapered off after a savory start. Lovely, but it's made for earlier drinking than some of the other vintages. The aging regimen was 52% in large-format old French oak, 42% in French oak (first fill) and 6% in stainless steel. "We keep every block and batch separate as best we can until blending after maturation. We always keep some 'post-malo' wine in stainless steel, because it retains freshness in that environment," says Alister Purbrick.