Winemaker Notes
An open and vibrant palate with lovely raspberry, blackcurrant, wood spice and sweet tobacco leaf, leads into a rich volume of fine terracotta tannins that are long, allowing the perfume to extend. Fine acid freshness, beautiful fruit succulence and a dark chocolate finish add to this elegant but powerful wine.
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
There's a lovely evocative lift of tangy cran-raspberry fruit at first sniff, with mint, dark chocolate and savory spice following closely behind. The palate is tugged tightly by sinewy, savory tannins, but is balanced by a big lift of tangy acidity and fruit weight. A powerful bottling that should cellar for at least a decade.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
This bold red offers a dense mix of currant, cassis and plum flavors that show details of date-nut bread, tobacco, star anise and fennel seed. The tannins are thick and prominent, but never get in the way of the expression of the wine, with a touch of sage and black pepper lingering on the long finish. Drink now through 2036.
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James Suckling
The better 2021's in Margaret River make for very good drinking. A cooler year, to be sure, yet stylistically the tannins are lean, nicely astringent and when good, the fruit is apt in the name of drinkability, over ample and concentrated. 'Luncheon claret' sort of stuff, with plenty to appreciate for the Bordeaux drinker over the obvious New World escapee. Here, a very good example. Aromas of bell pepper, dried tobacco, potpourri and red currant, over black. Mid-weighted of feel, fresh and super gulpable. Delicious wine for here and into the early mid-term. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
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Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon shows beautifully composed aromas of blackcurrants, dried Italian herbs and red currants well integrated with a touch of fine French oak. Elegantly framed yet retaining focus, the texture is seamless and ethereal over a surprisingly long finish with touches of pouch tobacco. The 2021 is lovely to drink now but has the torque to last.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon marks the 50th vintage of this wine. On the nose, it gives us all the typical red fruit, bay leaf, maritime salt, saltbush and raspberry characters that we have come to love at this estate. In the mouth, the wine shows the 2021 vintage in that it is lighter-framed and less dense than the 2020 tasted beside it. It's no problem, but it just offers a slightly different drinking experience, more of a "claret" framing than the more supple, succulently weighted 2020. I'd be drinking this sooner than some of the warmer/drier vintages around it. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Rating: 91+
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.