Mount Mary Quintet 2016

45% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, 6% malbec, 4% petit verdot, separately vinified and matured in French oak (35% new) for 18-22 months before blending and bottling. The ultimate Bordeaux blend, both in theory and reality. Almost butterfly wing transparency, yet compelling intensity and length, the flavours spanning cassis to blueberry to plum and blackcurrant, all with a textured backing. (97) JAMES HALLIDAY

Such perfume. Such finesse. It's a flat out joy to smell, and to taste. Violets, cedar, red and black fruits, tobacco, pencils, marzipan and aniseed. Just into medium-bodied, well-etched and sure-footed, much like the kitten, who's tongue the tannin sports. Delightful flavour of small red (mainly) and black berries, deft and precise, with a finish that's long and crisp, which leaves no doubt about the quality of this wine. Line and length. Fragrance and poise. Subtle, yet thoroughly persuasive. Gentle rasp of tannin cleans the mouth. It's a rare bird, this Cabernet. (97) GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

There are mulberries, raspberries, red plums, cassis and blueberries, as well as nice, spicy and cedary oak, fresh leaves and foresty notes. Youthful and very assertive. The DNA is all here. The cabernet is leading the wine here. There's a powerful and uncompromising tannin core that bodes well for the future. Powerful and still deliciously elegant. Give this time to arrive and settle. It's all here. Try from 2024. (96) NICK STOCK