Winemaker Notes
Deep dark red color. Aromas of currants, blueberry and juniper, bouquet garni and fresh earth. The palate is built on lots of fresh blue and red fruits. Bright flavors with energy and verve, along with hints of dusty earth, weave through the mid-palate with complexing notes of bay leaf, juniper and green tobacco leaf. Acid is fresh but balanced whilst tannins kick in mid-palate and run along with the fruit profile. Notes of coffee grounds and chocolate add complexity through the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based all on Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in new French oak, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sexy Beast is loaded with notions of blackcurrants, smoked earth, tobacco, and high-class cigar wrapper. With medium to full body, tons of intensity balanced by a real sense of elegance, and a great finish, it’s another satisfying, impeccably made wine from this estate.
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James Suckling
This has a very plush, ripe and essence-like blackcurrant core with blueberries and a sleek, plush tannin build on the palate. Chocolate and earthy nuances. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
This shows off plenty of precision and balance, with wild blueberry, huckleberry and black currant flavors that sing out amid details of peppermint tea, red licorice and fresh sage. The tannins are dense but polished, delivering plenty of oomph on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2032.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Sexy Beast Cabernet Sauvignon features classy hints of pencil shavings, mint and cassis. It shows appropriate varietal restraint on the palate, gliding along in a streamlined, focused manner without being tight or ungenerous. It's medium-bodied and silky yet firm, with a long finish.
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.