Mission Hill in the Okanagan Valley, Canada is a premium winery by any standard and this Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a classy wine. Its not a full on, ball breaking Cab Sauv though.

At 9 years old this has aged well, the aromas and flavours a restrained, more than subtle, like a rock climber scaling a cliff face and each hand or foot exactly where it should be. There’s pepper, herbal, blackcurrant and an underlying smokey note on the nose and additional sour cherry, plum and black olive with hints of an earthy undertone. Its a mid bodied wine, pretty smooth but with tannins in there and very dry. Its best drunk now as I can see the flavours and aromas weaken over time.

At £15 a bottle its good value

Mission Hill, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011, Okanagan Valley, Canada