Winemaker Notes
Deep mulberry, ripe cherry with purple hues, showing youth and vitality. Delicious aromas and deeply perfumed, the 2019 Diana Madeline offers notes of violets, wild rose, mulberry, satsuma plum and cigar box. Light and intense, with fruit density, balance and opulent, in that Cabernet Sauvignon seductive way. The wine's fine tannins, float across the palate revealing plum, rose, chocolate, ironstone and cigar box.
Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Diana Madeline hails from a modest, cool, vintage, which produced wines across the board steeped in detail, perfume and nuance. Incidentally, 2019 was the first vintage of the Diana Madeline to include the amphora in the fermentation vessels (purchased in 2015), and one has to wonder whether or not this contributes to the poise of the wine. Aromas of licorice, blueberry, cassis and leather, raw cocoa, asphalt, aniseed and fennel seeds appear on the nose. In the mouth, the wine is shaped by ferruginous tannins, and chalk and grip abound. It's a long wine that presents a gracious view of this lovely vintage. The blend this vintage is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. 13.5% alcohol.
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Wine Enthusiast
Cullen's biodynamic home-block red is a deep well of terroir-driven aromas and flavors. Concentrated yet lucid, it conjures wild West Aussie bush and coastal notes. There's eucalyptus, dusty red earth and the blossoms of local Marri trees amidst tart cherry and red currant. It's briny, savory and spicy. The tannins are muscular but ultrafine, sappy and textural. Drink 2024.
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Wine Spectator
Dense and concentrated, displaying polished notes of cassis, kirsch, green olives and plump blackberry, all balanced with spicy cedar, tobacco and malty Assam black tea notes. The tannins firm up on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Drink now
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Home to some of Australia’s most elegant and long-lived red and white wines, Margaret River is situated in the farthest reaches of Western Australia. Relatively warm and dry, the region is cooled by breezes from the Indian Ocean. Margaret River takes some inspiration from Bordeaux, producing top-quality Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux Blends with firm structure, mouthwatering acidity, balanced alcohol and notes of herbs and spice. For white wines, refreshing blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon as well as complex, age-worthy Chardonnays are regional specialties.