One of the premium wines from Bremerton. Tall, heavy bottle and bottled under cork. Find that cork screw or waiter’s friend.

Bremerton Wines, Walter’s Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, Langhorne Creek, 2013

The wine takes a long time to settle and open up: observations of the lightening at the rim offer faint maturity at the edges. Blackcurrants and berries with telltale pencil lead darting in and out of blue steak and asphalt before bitter chocolate, coconut slice and mint. Even though this is the current release, it feels tired and blocky with obvious oak and yawning tannins. I can’t help but wonder if it is going through a maturation phase or what the wine would have been like under screw cap (as Rebecca Willson typically makes wonderful wines with vibrancy and energy).

RRP: $56
Alc: 15%
Rating: 16/20

Wine sample courtesy of Bremerton Wines