Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Napa; Napanook 2001, Dominus Estate, Napa; Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2002, Barossa Valley.
Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Napa, 14.2%, €80The Ridge lads aren't mad about many of their Napa brethren, but I took a shine last year to this big, brooding black-cherry, leather and tobacco Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford, and the muscular 2004 vintage hasn't changed my mind. Needs more time to reveal itself, but a very powerful and classy wine. Halpin Fine Wines, Wicklow; Enowine, IFSC, D1, and Monkstown, Co Dublin; the Bunch of Grapes, Donabate, Co Dublin; Fallon & Byrne, D2; Claudio's, D2.
Napanook 2001, Dominus Estate, Napa, 14%, €45This Cabernet- dominated blend is the second wine of Dominus, the Californian project of Bordeaux kingpin Christian Moueix, and it is gorgeously rich and complex. An intriguing nose of orange peel and tobacco leaf is followed by dense, dark, opulent fruit and a silky mouth-filling texture with a rich, measured finish. From Searsons, Monkstown, Co Dublin.
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2002, Barossa Valley, 15.5%, €32.99Judged the top New World red by The Best of Wine in Ireland 2008, this old-fashioned red has layers of dark fruit and an almost menthol intensity. It's big but not overwhelming, and needs to feel the air to reveal its abundant fruit and spice. From Hole in the Wall, Blackhorse Avenue, D7; Fallon & Byrne, D2; Power & Smullen, Lucan, Co Dublin; Red Island Wines, Skerries, Co Dublin; Vat 9, Clonskeagh, D14.