Orlando St. Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, 1997

My wife gave me this St. Hugo Cabernet, along with some other bottles, for a Christmas present many years ago. Tonight, we're drinking it together for her 65th birthday and enjoying the perfect beauty of maturity. The gift that keeps on giving.

The bouquet is what I would consider, from my limited experience, classic Coonawarra Cabernet. Very forward scents of berries, currants, cherries and mint. Ripe fruit and oak up front and all the way back. Very smooth; beautiful texture. This wine is clearly from another era: 13.5% alcohol content. I find some slight green hints, closer to mint than bell pepper, though. Oak is a major part of the wine's personality, but the fruit is showing beautifully right now.