Cabernario, No.8 Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

(2023) This wine comes from an ungrafted Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard planted in 1964 and farmed without irrigation. There's 15% of Syrah in the blend, the wine aged 10 months in French oak barrels, 30% of which were new. Tobacco spices and charry notes merge with classic blackcurrant. There is a little glimpse of something more lifted and floral. It's a big, chocolaty-dense wine on the palate, plenty of barrel component adding char and nutmeg-like spice. The fruit is there, concentrated and deep, and the wine finishes with a bittersweet twist of liquorice and pepper from tight, spicy tannins and acidity. It's big and assertive, and though it won't suit everyone, it has its place. Note this has been offered with £3 off in Waitrose quite recently. Watch the video for more information and food matching ideas.