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.

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 trace of violets and graphite underpins the bolder aromas of blue and black fruit. Similarly, on the palate a subtle spice element tempers the ripe, rich, rounded and juicy mouthful. A cocoa powder nuance lends the overall palate a Black Forest gateaux vibe because of the black cherry vibrance. Elegant, cohesive and structured with the oak supporting the fruit beautifully. Lovely leashed power and restraint followed by a long tail.

The seduction begins with dark fruitcake on the nose, with a wisp, or mere suggestion, of dried lavender florality. Velvety, sleek, supple, polished and glossy entry to the mouth. Confident and poised. An abundance of rich fruitcake, tobacco leaf, plum and cedar spice mingle happily. The palate is nuanced, layered and complex: simultaneously seductive and engaging but not ponderous. Rewardingly succulent with seamlessly integrated oak, it is restrained, refined and elegantly genteel with a lingering farewell. Beautifully harmonious and composed to the end.