Winemaker Notes
92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec
Professional Ratings
-
Wine & Spirits
Constricted at first, this is a powerful cabernet with energy to spare. The gragrand red plum and strawberry flavors develop out of a dense, compacted core, their sappy richness balanced by fresh acidity. As the wine evolves with air, it yields scents of the coastal forest - eucalyptus and cactus - that add to its disctinctive flavor. Decant a bottle for Cantonese spare ribs.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon is fully mature but in no danger of imminent collapse. There's a slightly herbal lift on the nose—hints of sage and bay leaf—then fresh red currants and raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, it's silky in texture, with a gently lingering finish.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Vasse Felix is making boldly flavored yet balanced Margaret River wines epitomized by this Cabernet, which features cassis and mint aromas, bright fruit-driven flavors that manage to avoid jamminess and a firm, tannic finish. Drink 2013-2020.
Editor's Choice
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.