ANTHONIJ RUPERT CABERNET FRANC 2020

Tendrils of spice add nuance and allure to a nose packed with black berries, hedgerow fruit and some mocha notes. The palate is plush, rounded and pillowy but layered with dark fruitcake flavour, black cherry, baking spice and pencil shavings too. The mouthfeel is complemented by its overall stature and regal refinement. Balanced with seamless integration of oak and ripe, rich fruit with lovely succulence and freshness as well. Complex, supple and silky smooth, the wine is ultimately simply delicious with a superbly long tail.

Genteel, suave and refined, t he nose is complex, layered with cassis, earth, hint of herbs, black cherry and spice. That same elegance is found in the mouth, sleek, supple and velvety on entry. The next element to become apparent is the harmony and balance of the ripe cassis, black cherry and dark berry fruit with succulent acid freshness. Afterwards, the herb, tobacco leaf, cedar and nutty notes make themselves known, along with the appropriately firm angularity of the tannin frame provided by oak maturation. Thrilling, taut and energetic, it’s drinking well now but will comfortably handled a decade or more in bottle.

Inviting melange of plush and plump black and red berry fruits, blueberries, spice and chocolate on the nose. Those same fruits and flavours glide seamlessly from the nose onto the palate. There’s a subtle note of fennel or anise but with rich black cherry and plum notes adding succulence. Reigning in this abundance is a frame of oak and tannin which provides a gentle, muscular squeeze. Textured, rich and rounded but elegantly robust, there’s a beautiful complexity and breadth to this wine. The cocoa powder nuance is present in the long, tapered finish. One made for cellaring but also for immediate enjoyment.

A subtle floral hint lifts the rich nose of fruitcake, black berries, herb and peppery spice. Ripe, soft-textured and juicy black fruit is the first flavour in the mouth. Vibrant spice – nutmeg, pepper and cinnamon – then make their presence felt, followed by a creamy oak note. The wood, which is harmoniously knit with the fruit and fresh acid, lends both stature, frame and without taking over or dominating. Deeply rewarding with rounded mouthfeel and a long elegant tail. Genteel and refined.