“A classy wine from a really top vintage. What’s not to like, as they say? Marrying Cabernet Sauvignon with 32% Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this is a subtle, refined, nuanced Rubicon with herbal, earthy, tobacco and graphite perfume, fine 60% new wood, polished tannins and a long, graceful finish. Traditional in style and rightly proud of it. 2023-32 ”

“Very Old World in style, with a graceful profile and mouthwatering acidity standing firmly behind notes of cherry, savory mineral, rose hip and rosemary. Supple tannins create good harmony and give this more muscle. Needs a bit more time, but well-executed. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.”

“The vintage I have chosen, 2016, probably has more of a seven- to nine-year window, not least because it is drinking so beautifully now that I suspect people will struggle to stop themselves opening it. Its tannins are present, but supple and plump, and backed with a certain freshness of acidity as a counterpoint to its nicely ripe black fruit. It is lip-smacking and moreish.The wine spent 16 months in 55% new Nevers oak barrels, with the oak giving cedar and some incense-like spice notes which worked in harmony with tobacco-leaf aromas that are most likely from the Cabernet Franc component. This was a wine that brought a smile to my face, which is just what an impulse purchase on the way home should do.”

“Cedar wood, spice, a touch of fynbos on nose and palate. Good acidity and layers of flavour that balance the ripe fruit, with a deft touch.”

“The 2016 Rubicon has an expressive nose of mulberry with subtle oak and red and brown spices. Comprised of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the full-bodied palate is still tight and structured with a grippy, chewy edge, but elegance can be gained with age and this wine ends well structured with focused balance.”