Medium red-purple; an archetypal bouquet for Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, offering a mix of cedar, earth and blackberry; a similarly classic, fine, light to medium-bodied palate with a mix of cedar and blackberry once again, supported by super-fine savoury tannins and perfectly integrated oak.
James Halliday - 94/100

 " Elegant, linear, yet powerful and deeply concentrated and rather primary young wine, destined for a long cellar life. Its intense cassis and mulberry aromas are married with fine cedary and chocolate oak, plus hints of musk and meat. Long and firm, it's fractionally cooked and should develop complexity with time."
Jeremy Oliver, On Wine - 91 points

"Fists of VA on the nose but also quality tar-and-blackcurrant-and-mint fruit. The palate is long and fine and thrillingly intense, with teases of cedar and long chords of blackberry and coffee flavour, brought to a wrenching finish by firm, but wholly appropriate, tannins. A great wine and despite vintage hype, better than its 1998 version. Buy it."
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 94 points

"Ex -Wynns winemaker Peter Douglas has really put Gartner on the map with this stunner. It's a dense, fleshy wine with marvellous structure and oodles of style. There's plenty of oak but it's cleverly infused. Minty, berry and oaky aromas lead into a smooth powerful palate."
***** The Age Uncorked