Warwick Estate Trilogy vertical tasting case

The first vintage in the handsome new Stellenbosch-embossed bottle, the 2013 is cabernet sauvignon led but already with a high proportion of cabernet franc (38%). Now eight years old, the tannins have started to soften and the wine has a silky richness, some fruit sweetness still, balanced by savoury notes; perhaps a taste of what the 2018 may become?

From a cool vintage with a long growing season, ideal for this cabernet sauvignon-dominated blend, at ten years old this wine has reached an elegant plateau of maturity, with savoury development complemented by sweet silky tannins.

A fully mature, classically styled Trilogy with cabernet sauvignon firmly in the lead role (60%). This wine was austere at first and needed time in bottle to develop elegant and approachable maturity, and we have extended our drinking window accordingly.

With resolved tannins, and its fruit and flavour now on the cusp between fleshiness and gentle evolution, this is fully ready to drink but with time in hand.

A cooler vintage that, like the 2008 below, has matured well in bottle but needed time to blossom. Less concentrated than in some years, still showing brightness of fruit – even a hint of mintiness – alongside classic cedar and cigar-box notes and dry spice finish.

Cabernet franc dominated, the 2018 was described by the team as a ‘bold vintage, needing five to ten years to drink at its best’. It has a gorgeous black fruit and cedar perfume, and a juicy, savoury palate supported by fine grained tannins, which clearly helped it scoop a coveted Platinum trophy at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards.