Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Scores

94 / 100

"In archetypal elegant, unfussed Rockford style, with a core of cassis/blackcurrant fruit complexed by savoury nuances which are wholly varietal; oak is a junior partner. (Published 18 June 2021)"
- James Halliday

91 / 100

"A strange thing has happened. When I put my order in each year for a small selection of Rockford reds, it’s now the Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon that I’m most interested in as a drinker. The Basket Press Shiraz is the one that I’m most curious about – but the cabernet is the one I most look forward to. I suspect that this change started around the release of the 2002s. The wine itself: It smells and tastes great. It’s full of chocolaty, pencilly, curranty fragrance and flavour – indeed it smells and tastes exactly how I’d like it to. What I am perhaps less convinced by is the ‘shape’ of the wine, which is tight and (overly?) drying, as if the grape skins were squeezed really hard. I’ve had this bottle open for a few hours, and those tannins haven’t softened at all – I suspect that they’ll always jar a bit in the wine. That said, I reckon the wine is still going to provide me with a lot of enjoyment, and it was well worth shelling out the hard-earned. (Published 24 October 2008.)"
- Campbell Mattinson

Tasting Notes