Winemaker Notes
The nose has good lift offering up black currant and blackberry fruit with a touch of the varietal's leafiness and a light mint element. Concentrated, yet quite lively in the palate with an abundance of ripe black fruits, there's noted vibrancy from a nice undercurrent of acidity, while riper tannins add just the right amount of tension on the backend. Supple textured and bright with impressive fruit intensity and freshness on its medium fuller frame, this has good length on its fruit driven finish. Working this for three days the wine gained more flesh and mid palate breadth without losing any vibrancy and freshness. This is impressive and represents excellent value.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
There’s plenty to like about this Cab, grown in the warm inland Riverina region of New South Wales. The nose is an appealing combo of olive, cedar, cigar box, chocolate and dark cherry and plum fruit. The earthy, savory, oaky characters continue on the palate, which falls a little flat, with the chewy, granular tannins feeling a little woody and bitter at the finish. Nevertheless, this avoids the overt ripeness and richness of many warm climate reds and makes for solid wintertime sipping. Southern Starz, Inc.
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.
Boasting a strong food and wine culture dominated by a large Italian-Australian population, Riverina is actually a diverse agricultural region centered at Griffith, 275 miles southwest of Sydney. While its Mediterranean climate allows plenty of experimentation with Italian grape varieties, Chardonnay has typically been the most popular variety here. Riverina is also noteworthy for the production of botrytized Semillon made in the style of Sauternes.