Elephant Hill Hieronymus 2013 $95 ★★★★★
Named after a famous ancestor of the Weiss family, Hieronymus Ebner von Eschenbach (Lord Mayor of Nuremberg 1514-1524 apparently) – this inaugural release of a flagship red is a blend of the best Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Malbec (20%) and Merlot (20%) from their Gimblett and Bridge Pa Triangle Vineyards that they could grow, and it represents the top of the tree for Elephant Hill. Using a whopping 80% new french oak barrels has produced a cage-fighter of a wine. Solid, masculine, sinewy and fierce – with tightly coiled tension and massive reach on the palate. With lifted dried herb, liquorice and cocoa characters on the nose, deep smoked berryfruit flavours, it’s definitely got style and weight. “You can’t give too much new oak to a big wine” says Steve Skinner, “they just soak it up”.
