Winemaker Notes
This restrained, well balanced expression of McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon is an ode to the ‘luncheon claret’, but it’s not as green and austere as that favourite lunchtime libation at the gentleman’s club. Early picked fruit from a vineyard with good breeding in the Willunga foothills results in an elegant, varietal style with classic First Drop drinkability.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very varietal cabernet fruit aromas with redcurrant and fresh-herb notes, as well as mint and blueberry. There’s iodine and light oak spice, too. The palate has a brand of tannin that is savory yet elegant. Italianate style here. Holds blue-fruit flavors neatly on the finish. Drink over the next five years.
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Wine Spectator
Dense wild blackberry, maraschino cherry and huckleberry flavors are at the core, with toothsome tannins and a juicy thread. The aromatics here stand out—sarsaparilla, palo santo and clove, dark chocolate and spicy cigar box notes that linger on the expressive finish. Drink now through 2036.
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.