Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Howard Park cellar door was one of the vinous highlights of the trip.
Along with Castle Rock, the message here was consistency – High quality wines across the whole varietal spectrum. Nice cellar door too.

The wines:

Howard Park Riesling 2008
Lime & sherbet on the quite delicate, citrussy nose, leading to a palate that is proudly powerful & limey, with long fruit tingly flavours over prominent acidity. I like the combination of delicacy and strong acidity. A winner. 18+

Howard Park Sauvignon Blanc 2008
A complete surprise! Varietally perfect, green grass & gooseberry in the intensely aromatic, grassy mould, the palate matches this with just enough tropical fruit richness. Excellent stuff. Real vitality. 18.5

Howard Park Chardonnay 2006
Another quite complete wine, though its perhaps bluntly oaked, but not doubting the lovely, cashewy, nutty rich fruit & oak combo. Very good. 17.8

Howard Park Leston Shiraz 2005
A nice mid weight wine without quite hitting the high notes. Slightly candied bright red fruit, polished palate and some nice rhubarby, meaty cool climate schtink. Good, but just a little dull. 16.8

Howard Park Scotsdale Shiraz 2005
Very good interpretation of Great Southern Shiraz, Sweet red fruit that is ripe, yet still savoury. with a firm depth of mint edged, plum, fig and truffle flavours. Good stuff. 18

Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Note the name change (after Jeff Burch’s great Grandfather).
Brilliant. Almost entirely Cab Sauv this vintage & biased towards Great Southern fruit. The nose is powerful, red & black fruited, with an edge of roast meat, dashed with BBQ tomato relish. The palate shows hardcore powerful fruit & firm ripe tannic power – real classic line & length. There is a slightly stewed edge here, which I think comes from the warm vintage and particularly ripe fruit. Some may not like it, but it worked for me on the day – I found this to be the most perfectly formed WA Cabernet, winning me over with a balanced mix of savouriness and fruit power. 19