TN: Faber Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

[Waiters Friend]

According to the back label, this wine sees 20 months in new French oak hogsheads, before bottling diret from barrel.

Deep purple / black in colour, and opaque.

Intense and powerful nose of blackberries, cocoa powder, mulberries, alongside a hint of tobacco, and the merest hint of green capsicum. The palate is full and rich, with fleshy fruit across the tongue. Acid is moderate and soft, and tannins are quite well integrated. It's the fruit, however, which is the predominant featuire of the wine, and its very good fruit indeed.

So, this is a wine that should improve with a few years, and be more in balance once the fruit becomes less up-front. Very enjoyable now, though.

Cheers
Allan

[Waiters Friend]

Four years further on, and with Faber soon to release the 2022 vintage of this wine, it's time to look at the 2015 again.

Still purple black in colour. I think this wine is in suspended animation. The nose is pretty much the same as in 2021 (blackberries, cocoa powder, mulberries, alongside a hint of tobacco, and the merest hint of green capsicum.) with cedary oak emerging slightly. The palate also remains largely the same, although again, the oak is slightly more noticeable than the previous tasting. Very satisfying, perfectly balanced and, at 10 year of age, still has a long future ahead of it.

Cheers
Allan