This star blend of cabernet sauvignon merlor cabernet francand malbec is a masterpiece of elegance in '09. Bright red-berry aromas with no sign of greenness despite early-picked low alcohol. It's wonderfully intense with effortless power and smooth tannins.-Huon Hooke

This is fresh and ripe and has an earthy, savory edge to the nose, together with crushed leaves and forest wood. There’s a little spice and chocolate amid darker plums and berries. Some blueberry and roasting herbs, too. The palate is quite dense and flavor-packed with blue and dark berries, yet quite elegant. The fruit sits really nicely inside long, linear tannins. I like the freshness here and this is aging well. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

The usual complex blend of Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Malbec wild yeast-fermented and matured for 13 months in French oak. It has excellent colour and is made in the 'new' medium-bodied Cullen style; the texture is silky and the tannins are not the least aggressive making it a very elegant and fresh wine that will doubtless age for as long as you wish.

Weighing in at 88% Cabernet Sauvignon this wine also contains 6% Cabernet Franc 4% Merlot and 2% Malbec. It lays low in 55% new French oak for 13 months after a natural ferment gets the good juice bubbling. I often delight in how this wine gives a good yardstick on a vintage - it doesn't shy away from vagaries that have made it disappointing but often shows just how bloody suitable the blend is for the region in general in good to great years.A very delicate yet layered perfume with mulberry dried red currants and lifted herbal notes. A touch of torn ferns and dry undergrowth but implicit and finely woven into the fruitiness of the aromatics. Prettiness continues on the palate; the wine feels like it was picked for elegance over concentration. Very vital and fresh firm tannins provide stricture for the red currant and light chocolatey burr of oak. Full of finesse and brightness slender in shape and showing an inherent vibrant appeal that drags long and fine in the palate. A definite long term cellarer; may bemuse many looking for more in its infancy. --Mike Bennie

Coming from a single vineyard planted in 1971 and 1976 the 2009 Diana Madeline is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon 6% Cabernet Franc 4% Merlot and 2% Malbec. It was aged for around 13 months in French barriques 55% new. Deep garnet-purple colored it offers expressive aromas of ripe cassis freshly crushed blackberries and blueberries over cloves damp loam hung meat grated mace dried Mediterranean herbs and a dusting of dark chocolate powder. Medium bodied and wonderfully graceful on the palate it has crisp acid firm finely grained tannins and a long earthy finish. It really needs another year or two in bottle to open-out drinking best 2013 to 2023+. --Lisa Perotti-Brown