Leaping Lizard Cabernet Merlot 2007, Western Australia (£7.99-£8.50 Seckford Agencies)
Vibrant, crunchy blackcurrant nose, then slightly pippy blackberry flavours, with a tar-like streak, easy fleshy wine, quite powerful and ripe but finishes dry. B

Ferngrove ‘Symbols’ Cabernet Merlot 2008, Frankland River, Australia (£8.99-£9.50 Seckford Agencies)
Fresher and tangier than the Leaping Lizard, with fine cassis, black cherry and leafy Cabernet edges joined by an oily richness, intense, but never aggressive. S-

Yalumba The Scribbler Cabernet/Shiraz 2007, Barossa, Australia (£9.99 Oddbins, Noel Young)
Jovial forward style, ripe and rounded, with the sweet edge of plump Shiraz and the vanilla sheen of (American?) oak coming through. Good meaty finish, tasty and honest, but not hugely complex. B+

Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada Cabernet/Syrah 2007, Maipo Valley, Chile (£8.99 Asda)
Classic Chilean dusty blackcurrant pastille, intense but quite angular – needs sexing up. B(-)

Brown Brothers Patricia Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Victoria, Australia (£22.99 Christopher Piper, www.everywine.co.uk)
Corked! Bugger.