'From the iconic Smart vineyard. This was a parcel of fruit that Giles Cooke had access to in '24 but felt it didn’t interlock with those destined for This Charming Man. Not a quality thing – just how it looked on the bench. However, it screams Smart – pale in the glass, perfumed yet savoury, riffing through wild red berries, dried cherry, orange peel, white pepper, concrete dust, warm terracotta, dried rose and fennel seed. On the palate, that site – and maker – imprint is equally emphatic, with such fine, silty tannin, pristinely ripe yet delightfully sour-fringed fruit, calm precision and a racy, long-echoing conclusion. Oh, and it can’t be glossed over that all the profits go to charity. Just so exceptional, and on so many levels.'
97 pts & Special Value Rosette
– Halliday Wine Companion
