2001 Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reviews

“The nose offers exotic scents of blackberry, tar and earth. A chunky palate of ripe black fruits married to firm tannins and well-judged oak. The finish has an amazing depth of concentration.”

Simon Woods, Wine & Spirits - UK - 01-04-2006
Full Review

“A special wine brooding blackcurrant and earthy aromas to introduce a complex, rich and beautifully structured palate. Drink on very special occasions.”

Glen Davies, Homes & Living Magazine - 01-01-2006
Full Review

“Classy wine; abundant structure but not the least extractive; blackcurrant and sweet fruit; long and silky. Great Southern 71%, Margaret River 29%.Drink 2021.”

96 Points
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2006 - 01-08-2005
Full Review

“Aged in all new French barriques. Deep red. Crème de cassis kirsch, fruitcake, tobacco and spicy oak on the nose. Rich and highly concentrated, with densely packed flavours of dark cherry, mulberry and mocha. The chewy finish features sweet, nicely managed tannins. For the intensity this wine displays, there?s excellent balance and focus.”

Josh Raynolds, Steve Tanzers International Wine Cellar - 01-07-2005
Full Review

“Dark crimson. Quite pale rim. Full, bloody, chocolatey, well integrated. Full and soft. Acid dominates the finish.”

Jancis Robinson, www.jancisrobinson.com - 10-05-2005
Full Review

“?blackcurrent, earth and licorice, dressed sympathetically in vanilla-bean and smoky-barrel influences. The palate is well concentrated with briary, slightly tart blackcurrant/berry flavour that treads a tight line between cassis-like fruit austerity. It finishes long and fine?a solid foundation of firm tannins. Very age worthy?”

Huon Hooke and Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide - 2004/2005 - 01-01-2005
Full Review

“If you are lucky enough to find this two-region blend, you will be richly rewarded with a spectacular wine. Thick blackberry and chocolate rise to the nose with just a hint of plum. But, in the mouth, hang on! Blasts of dark fruit, fudge, elegant herbs and earth, and wave after wave of cedary oak and fruit in harmony. So pure and interesting.”

Rick Van Sickle, The Calgory Sun - 23-05-2004
Full Review

“From its elevated berry fruit and cassis bouquet, its rich extract and great breadth across the palate, right through to its intense and flavoursome finish, this 70-30 blend of Great Southern and Margaret River fruit is every inch a vinous thoroughbred.”

94 Points
Colin Climo, The Bulletin - 20-04-2004
Full Review

“This classy WA cabernet-merlot-cab franc is 70 per cent Great Southern and 30 per cent Margaret River fruit. It s very stylish, with an appetising nose of blackcurrent, earth, licorice and vanilla bean. The palate is ripe and succulent but with savoury austerity. Briary black fruit flavours mate with smoky oak in true harmony, and it finishes long and firm”

Ralph Kyte Powell, The Age - Uncorked - 03-02-2004
Full Review

“It?s at the upper end of the price scale but if you want an impressive WA cabernet sauvignon, you won?t go wrong with this drop. It?s elegant, shows classic fruit backed by emerging dark-chocolate notes, has deliciously ripe tannins and near-perfect structure. It doesn?t get much better than this and it would be a perfect present for a red wine collector”

Bill Thompson, The Sunday Times - 21-12-2003
Full Review

“Brilliant, long-flavoured, persistent wine with long, searing, undertowing tannins that sits like a ledge upon which it's greatness can rest. Great wines usually require great tannins, and this wine has them in perfect form - it's the kind of magnificence that sets you all a'tremor. There's also a rump of black-cored, blackcurrant-and-blackberry fruit, a slip of chocolately richness and a general cabernet dustiness - it wants for nothing. I'd score it higher, except that it will get even better with extended maturation. For mine, it's the year's best Australian wine, bar none. Drink: Now - 2025”

98 Points
Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly - 01-09-2003
Full Review