L'ORMARINS PRIVATE CUVÉE 2017

Lemon and grapefruit zest aromas with a dusty flint edge. Those same flavours immediately announce themselves on the palate, bright, tangy and vivacious. The interplay of fruit and zingy acid is beautifully harmonious and well judged. Underpinning it all is a structured, subtle lees depth which lends both body and length to the succulent mouthful.

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.

Clean, crisp lemon sherbet zest and biscuit nose. The palate follows the same track: vibrant, crisp, clean and tangy with bright freshness. Focused and poised with gentle but beguiling flavours of succulent lemon sherbet and understated trace of orange marmalade before a richer, rewarding, broad creamy toast, biscuit and brioche note from time on lees becomes apparent. Persistent dry 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.