Wolf Blass Black Label 2018

We are thrilled to be the first UK merchant to offer the 2018 Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

Stuart McCloskey “Sampled straight the bottle (no airtime). The bouquet is bottomless in terms of its depth – I’m not sure the word ‘concentration’ cuts it. Has anyone seen the film ‘The Perfect Storm’?  This is a one-hundred-foot wall of aromanticness, which takes forever to untangle. The hairs on my olfactory senses are tingling! I’ll come back to the bouquet in a while however, I will say ‘black hole’ in terms of the wine’s density.

Brooding would be an understatement. This release places the wine's ‘luxurious’ expression onto the next level however, I must stress this is far from clumsy. The flavours come at you with rolling waves of hedonism. There’s tangible thickness to the wine’s viscosity, but it’s a real charmer and would woo the pants off most. Thank the Lord, acidity and freshness comes to one’s relief. This is an epic, full-throttle release that attacks every facet of one’s senses. It is delicious, heroic and monolithic, all at the same time.

I’m giggling too much and need 72-hours to unravel the bouquet. Sorry! This is a thrilling wine that overloads the senses with an almost impossible level of seduction…  Drink now (decant for 8-12 hours) to 2040. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

Take II: "I couldn’t resist and returned 24-hours later to re-sample. To me, the break has served us both well. I’ve sampled / consumed less exuberant Shiraz and time with Mother Nature’s oxygen has tamed this bottle. Deep, deep aromas – wonderfully evocative and brooding. Cold steel, graphite, dry herbs, cedar, sea salt, the sweetest of spice(s), all wrapped in a cloak of liquor-soaked fruit. Wonderfully decadent, yet time with air has tamed this somewhat. The smörgåsbord of flavours are too numerous to list. In fact, the wine changes in the glass resulting in an everchanging cycle of varied deliciousness. The fruit drenches and takes command, the tannins are svelte and provide the merest pinch of grip, and the acidity is here and welcome. The distance this wine travels along the palate is incredible. Enjoy, as I know many of you will…"

98 Points – Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot “For me, even though this does not boast quite the same lofty price tags as the Platinum’s, it is my pick of the range from 2018 – an absolute cracker and loved everything about it. A blend of Barossa, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale, so textbook Blass, this shows deep reds and purples. Spices, chocolate, ripe notes, blackfruits, coffee beans. Oak, but it is so well integrated that one hardly notices it. Balanced, complex, concentrated and lingering. This is seamless, plush and so wonderfully textural. So much of interest here. Great length, great future and just love that texture with the tannins silkier than in the Platinum Shiraz, plus juicy acidity. This has everything and shows just how good 2018 can be.”