Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A biodynamic cabernet with a small tweak of petit verdot (3%), this has a beautiful sense of richness, balance and harmony. The nose is swathed in ripe blackberry and dark-cherry aromas as well as blueberries. It's impeccably ripe. The palate has a silky, long and velvet-like texture that sits well with the superb mid-palate richness and blueberry flavors. Long, shimmering, tannic finish. Releases itself long and effortlessly. Drink now or keep for 15+ years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Vanya Cabernet Sauvignon was a significant wine to be released in Margaret River's modern history. Prior to the release of this wine, it and only a handful of others in the region had the highest price point for any wine, Chardonnay or Cabernet, at around $120 AUD/$75 USD. This was disproportionate to the quality on offer, but still the glass ceiling existed. Then came the release of this wine. At $350, the Vanya Cabernet Sauvignon unceremoniously smashed the glass ceiling of price and paved the way for prices to increase significantly across the region.
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.
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.