Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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James
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
There's plenty of density and structure here, with a smooth, velvety quality to the notes of plum, blueberry and five-spice powder. Chai tea and graham cracker crust details linger on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2022.
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Wine Enthusiast
Leeuwin's characteristic elegance and approachability, combined with ageability, are in full force here. Trademark pencil lead, eucalyptus and red currant characters mingle with dried flowers, herbs and furniture polish. The tannins are dusty and tight-grained, with an herbaceous currant flavor continuing throughout. Drink now–2032.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
Lovely fresh assortment of fruit, such as raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants and blueberries, and just a hint of some herbs from beneath. Medium-bodied with such freshness and polish. Structured tannins, really zippy acidity and a chewy finish. Drink in 2020 when this softens.
Other Vintages
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Australian Wine -
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Robert
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Spirits
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Wong
Wilfred
In 1972, legendary Napa Valley winemaker, Robert Mondavi, first identified the future site of the Leeuwin vineyard as being ideal for the production of premium wine and provided early mentorship to owners, Denis and Tricia Horgan in the establishment of Leeuwin Estate. The first vines were planted by hand over a five year period from 1973.
Featuring state-of-the art facilities, the winery building was opened in 1978, celebrating with a trial vintage. Leeuwin enjoyed its first commercial vintage in 1979, and was thrust into the international spotlight when Decanter Magazine gave its highest recommendation to the 1980 "Art Series" Chardonnay in an international blind tasting.
Maintaining a team of highly skilled and dedicated winemakers, Leeuwin Estate is now under the direction of two generations of the founding family.
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.