S.C Pannell Koomilya CP Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

The Wine Front – "This, and the 2017 Temp Touriga, are the only releases from Koomilya until 2021. If the wines aren’t up to scratch, they don’t get released. The CP block planted in 1975, and recently reworked, and given some love since 2012.Classic Aussie red in many ways, but reference that in a more old school way, perhaps. Blackcurrant, liquorice, raspberry liqueur, some exotic spice, a minor amount of truffle and polished wood. It’s juicy and supple, tannin is tucked tight into sheets of intense and subtly sweet small berried fruit, there’s a savoury sort of umami/nori thing happening too, and the finish is long and slick with ripe tannin. Quiet authority here, and it’s a wine that’s not trying too hard to be anything other than what it is, which, in short, is very bloody good." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

James Halliday – "A block regenerated by the Pannells since they purchased it in '12, it produces small berries in small bunches of intensely flavoured grapes. Hand-picked, 10 days on skins, pressed to French puncheons for 19 months maturation. It is the only unblended wine so far made and sold under the Koomilya banner, 4560 bottles made. It is a wine of beauty, with effortless poise and flawless fruit that is medium to full-bodied at most. How long will it live? Try 40 years." - James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)

James Suckling – A beautiful array of fresh, ripe blackcurrants and dark cherries with subtle wood spices and a liquorice thread. The palate has such smoothly rendered tannins and a very juicy core of fresh, dark plums and blackcurrants. Really impressive, velvety tannins. Drink or hold. Screw cap. 96 points. Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com June 2019