A difficult year with rain at bloom and heatwave at harvest – a real “winemaker’s vintage” as they call it: Marcus Notaro couldn’t have  the hangtime he wanted that because of the early harvest heatwave so he babysat the wine in the winery, giving it less time on skins, for example, to avoid green tannins. Then there was “a bit of battonage early on to bring out the character”. Five years on and the wine is tight and closed and gives little away: it’s indigo-dark, with hints of cassis and black fruits, herb-scented. The palate is dense and concentrated with black fruit, really robust tannins and a length that persists for minutes. Difficult to predict how it will age but those tannins will calm and the good acidity should keep the whole package fresh and sweet.