Cullen, Diana Madeline, Margaret River 2015

Inky, bright-rimmed ruby. Powerful, mineral-accented cassis and blackberry scents are complicated by suggestions of roasted coffee, incense, potpourri and pipe tobacco. Broad and fleshy on the palate, offering alluringly sweet cherry, dark berry liqueur and floral pastille flavors that slowly tighten up on the back half. Becomes more energetic with air. The cherry, floral and spice notes return on the strikingly long, gently tannic and penetrating finish. Two-thirds of the oak here, all of it French, was new.

The 2015 Diana Madeline is lighter in frame and mid-palate weight than the 2014 tasted beside it. This offers us a glimpse of something altogether more herbal and mineral, with graphite, kelp, raspberry pip and gravelly tannins that frame the finish. I like it a lot. It has many, many years to go. Could the wines of the 2015 vintage finally be emerging from their shells, a mere 10 years from harvest? The blend here is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 1% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Despite exhibiting a bit of youthful austerity, the 2015 Diana Madeline should mature into an exemplary representation of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon there's 11% Merlot, 1% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc in the blend). It's classic Bordeaux in style, meaning it's medium-bodied and streamlined and framed by firm but ripe tannins. Cassis fruit forms the core, although hints of cedar oak, pressed flowers and dried herbs add considerable nuance, picking up notes of chocolate on the taut, lingering finish. It's an early candidate for Cabernet Sauvignon of the vintage in Margaret River.