Clarendon Hills Sandown Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The fruit flavors are all there, trademark Cabernet Sauvignon with black currant, blueberry and plums. The oak is evident with toasty cedar aromas. There are some other characters lurking in the background, like bitter chocolate and earthy, briary notes. All of these flavors add to the sheer presence of the wine. It is very powerful.
Tasting the wine at the moment is sheer joy mixed with a tinge of sadness. The joy is the sheer wealth of fruit flavor mixed with the vast array of complexing flavors. The sadness is the fact that you are trying the wine now and not in another 15 to 20 years. This wine surely has the power and intensity to develop and improve over this extended time period. The structure is incredibly powerful with very firm gripping tannins. Still evident as well as the fruit flavors are the bitter chocolate and cedar notes. It's a tough choice to make, when to drink the wine as it is very attractive even as a big angular youngster it is at the moment.
If you can't wait, select a dish with big intense flavors to try and match the wine. The sauce or cooking juice should be slightly sweet to soften the firm and drying effect of the tannin. It is definitely a red meat wine. As an alternative a creamy cheese like a ripe white mould or an aged Reggiano with some fruity accompaniments would be ideal.
Professional Ratings
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
- Wine & Spirits
Other Vintages
2010-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.