Dappled ‘Tradition’ Cabernets 2025

Cabernet Sauvignon (74%) and Cabernet Franc from a vineyard planted in 1981.

There’s plenty of depth and ripeness to the fruit but it all feels perky and alive. The Cabernet Franc influence is clear, as a positive. Blackcurrant, boysenberry, mulberry, apple, cut grass, strawberry and black tea notes keep the entertainment factor high. There’s good tannin here too; grapey, grippy and soft at once. It’s a livelier expression of cabernet than is customary but it’s an excellent one. 94 pts, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front