Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Serpico (aged 12 months in new American hogsheads as well as small French barrels) comes from the Willunga district in the southern sector of McLaren Vale, near the ocean. It exhibits a dense purple color in addition to an extraordinary bouquet of smoke, blueberries, black raspberries, and cassis. Superbly endowed with admirable purity, sweet tannin, a floral/fruity component, and a fabulously layered, concentrated mid-palate as well as finish, it is one of the finest Cabernet Sauvignons to ever emerge from South Australia.
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Wine Enthusiast
Made from grapes dried passito-style, this is an excellent Cab. Well balanced with soft tannins, it shows earth and focused blackberry aromas, and very juicy blackberry and plum fruit. Pretty, unique and worth seeking out.
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.