Summerfield, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Pyrenees

Still fresh, good fruit with some reasonable tannins. Needs long decant to properly open.

Back in Melb for the 2025 vintage which at this stage looks fantastic because of the dry warm but not too hot conditions . Anyway lets see how this classic is going at March 2025. and from the great 2008 vintage. being one of my favourite Small Winemakers in Aust. Mark Summerfield is a true Aussie treasure. His Wines allude Class in all aspects. On opening we have Deep Ruby core with a maturing rim at March 2025. excellent for …

Splash decanted. Black cherry and blackcurrant jam, aniseed, vanilla, baking spices, a little prunes in cream. in the mouth it's rich, dense, alcoholically warm, drying granular tannins, similar fruit profile to the palate, vanilla oak. Alcohol carries this and gives length. Big in an old school way.

{screwcap, 13.5%} Rather more dilute than I remembered; maybe some decanter time would have helped. Biggish in body but unfocussed and hollow somehow; there are only very faint dusty tannins left, and not much acid; the flavours aren't especially cabernet in character, but rather a generic, vaguely minty and dark-hued eucalypt sensation, but without ever really doing the job. The impression is of something hollowing out without actually developing in any way; it's not hot on the finish, but rather …

{screwcap, 13.5%} Mint, mint, mint. Eucalypt too. Sings the song of regional Victoria as truly as any wine ever made. I've criticised these reds before for excessive alcoholic heat; at this lower level there is a certain angularity to the palate here; it's more drinkable than the high alcohol expressions, but perhaps more polarising in flavour. Fairly mild structural elements (acid, tannin) despite the fullish-bodied palate presence; medium-length finish brings down the curtain. Decent, but not great. A bit foursquare.

{screwcap, 13.5%} In an earlier incantation of this label, I wondered how much the high alcohol was a requirement for the wine's fundamental flavour. The answer, as offered here, is not much. This has every bit as much of the full-bodied mint/eucalypt flavour, the touch of background olive/herb, and the dark garnet/purple colour of its older sibling, but without the blasting heat of 15% alcohol. That said, this still tastes pretty warm, but not absolutely baked; there is still a …

Impenetrable black to red in the glass, the nose is distinctive and a great expression of Pyrenees Cabernet with subtle eucalyptus, ripe blackberry and cedary oak. There is a phenomenal amount of flavours on the palate whether it be dark fruits, spice or eucalypt. The front palate is saturated with blackberry fruit that moves to savoury plum in the mid palate where it picks up slight eucalyptus and spice flavours and is framed by ripe firm tannins and excellent oak …

Wine-Ark Cellar Club Tasting 2 - March 2011, Paxton Derwent Estates, Summerfield (Roof Terrace Australian Museum) : Nose: bramble and black currant, vanilla, oak, spice and mint Mouth: brambly and spicy. medium plus acid. Oak is nicely integrated. Love this wine. for the cellar.