Thomas Hardy 1994  Cabernet Sauvignon Sept 04

One sniff and this reeks of Coonawarra Cabernet with its touch of VA, integrated multiple berry aromas, herbaceous characters, cedar, coffee and vanillin oak and a multitude of other scents.

Intensely off-sweet on the uptake, there is a subtle under layer of ripe fruit to help balance the noticeable savoury nature and acid. Tannins have softened considerably but the wine is still a bit hard and will benefit from further bottle age; it is only just starting to come together. It was more enjoyable on release and has been a hole for years but looks like it is starting to emerge. Muscular in weight, the fruit is holding up well and there is no hurry to drink it. I doubt it will ever deliver what I had originally expected when I first tasted it, when I rated it as Outstanding, now its rated as Highly Recommended and the 94 Petaluma I had recently was more enjoyable and a better wine.