Winemaker Notes
A wine of balance and harmony. The cooler, slightly wetter vintage has marked this wine in a positive way. Savory, cedar, cigarbox, sage, oregano and ferrous notes through to lifted violets, blackcurrant, boysenberry, mulberry, mint and citrus peel. The palate opens generously, presenting opulent fruit on the attack, matched with a medium bodied mid palate and complemented and drawn out through ripples of fine, chalky tannins.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An attractively floral cabernet with violet and dried-rose notes, as well as dried leaves, forest wood, mint and wet earth. The fruit sits in the blackcurrant, blueberry and purple-cherry zone. A succulent palate with ripe but fine, long tannins, carrying plenty of purple and blue-fruit flavors. Classically Australian in character and delivered with an impressive eye to elegance.
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Wine Spectator
A mouthful of dense, rugged tannins sets the pace for this concentrated red, with notes of minerality, dried mushroom and forest floor, along with cassis, dried cherry and star anise details. Impressive for the focus and monolithic presence.
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.