Dona Paula Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (75cl, 13.9%)

A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, grown at 1,050 metres above sea level. The fruit comes entirely from Finca El Alto in Ugarteche, where pebbles, gravel and clay restrict yields to 7 to 9 tonnes per hectare. After slow ripening through early to mid-April, the wine spends 12 months in first, second and third-use French oak barrels. The nose opens with concentrated black fruit and cassis, layered with graphite and red pepper, followed by spice, vanilla and a delicate smokiness. The palate is full and concentrated, with ripe dark fruit, ample tannins, red fruit jam and baking spice, carrying through to cassis and graphite minerality. The finish is long and persistent, with ripe tannins, dark fruit, subtle smokiness and graphite-like minerality.