Chapeau, Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Cabernet Sauvignon, 2020

Wow - a really satisfying palate with waves of flavour from the bright, sappy and vivid cherry-accented and fig attack which fills out laterally to the sweetly rich fruitcake and Christmas spice mid-palate but tapers impressively to a succulent and juicy but fresh and salty, anise-inflected finish. This really shapes well. Voluptuous and opulent but with poise and tension, the fruit is plush, creamy and ample yet there is no excess weight, instead it dances on the tongue, steered by sculpted tannins which, despite their satiny smoothness, contain real steel at their core. There is lively vein of acidity too that gives the wine a real pulse. Plenty of drama here to balance the density.

Jonathan has said in the past he has a reputation for making "New World wines in the Old World and Old Wines in the New World". The distinction in today's wine landscape might be far more blurred but nevertheless if this slipped into a line-up of 2018 or 2020's top St Julien classified growths - we're thinking Ducru Beaucaillou and especially Leoville Poyferré, it would be right at home...

"Spiced plums, creamed blackberries, currant, cherry Bakewell tart, tamarind and dark chocolate, with hints of graphite, smoked meat and polish. 24-hrs later humidor scents - sandalwood and Cohibas - develop, alongside salted liquorice, cloves, soy, and sour cherry notes."
Tom Harrow, Head Wine Guru