2017 Rubicon

86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. The Merlot harvest started as early as 31  August, with the last of the Cabernet Franc picked on 28  September. Organically farmed. Deep purple colour. A little wild on the nose. Jammy balsamic and sweet blueberry. The palate has better purity. Sweet damson jam and cassis at the core, with succulent tannins and warming alcohol. In an awkward spot at the moment, but there is good intensity underneath. I’d like to taste this again in 12 months’ time to see whether it has resolved. (TP)

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is another wine that has turned out very well. In this vintage, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Rubicon aren't that materially different. Red fruit, cedar, sweet pipe tobacco, menthol and licorice all develop in the glass. Here, too, I am quite impressed with the wine's freshness.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicon is rich and exotically ripe, a sort of 2015 with an extra kick of richness and voluptuousness, if you can believe that. Raspberry jam, cherries in liqueur, spice and wild flowers all race out of the glass in this rich, super-expressive edition of the flagship Rubicon. In 2017, Rubicon is a wine of real density and power. In 2017 winemaker Chris Phelps lowered the Cabernet Sauvignon a bit and raised the Merlot and Franc.