In a shy-bearing year and tasted from magnum, this well-integrated GSM blend is rich and spicy, with ripe, fleshy black plum, blackberry and black cherry fruit, a touch of scorched plum skin, cinnamon and heady, waxy lily florals. Smooth as velvet and drinking beautifully, it matured for 20 months on fine lees in 4,500-litre French oak foudres.

Opaque ruby. Lush, dark berry and fruitcake scents are complemented by suggestions of candied flowers and backing spices. Sappy and focused on entry and then fleshier in the mid-palate, offering ripe blackberry, cherry and allspice flavors and a hint of cola. Closes very long and smooth, with slowly building tannins lending gentle grip.

A rich and decadent red with roasted meat and plums with an earthy undertone. Bark. Some cooked fruit. Full and pepper at the finish. Soft and round tannined. Juicy. 53% grenache, 28% shiraz and 19% mataro. Drink now.

Ripe, round and supple, Torbreck's 2018 The Steading is foudre aged, so the oak signature is minimal. Mixed cherries and berries abound, mixing in hints of caramel, plus more savory notes of dried herbs, espresso and black olives. Medium to full-bodied, it's soft and easy to drink, but it has enough concentration to drink well for several more years.