Cabernet

Raymond Chan Wine Reviews 18.5/20. Deep, ruby-black with a slight hint of garnet, lighter edged. The nose is intensely full, filled with aromas of eucalyptus, pencil shavings, melded with cassis, blackberries, violets and savoury, earthy hints. Full-bodied, bright fruit aromas of cassis, blackberries, violets interweave a hint of leather, unfolding eucalyptus, pencil shavings and earth. Fine-grained tannin extraction offers a chewy palate; fruit is bright and attractive with complexity, lively acidity added roundness. Match this with grilled ribeye and kangaroo loin over the next 5 years. 14.5% alc. 18.5/20 pts August 2021. Only 1800 cases...

    "The 2021 Diana Madeline is composed of Cabernet Sauvignon (91%), Merlot (4%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Malbec (2%). The only other time since the first 1995 vintage of this wine (formerly labeled as the Cabernet Merlot) that the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon has crested 90% or higher was the 2016 vintage, which saw 93% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2021 vintage in Margaret River was an interesting one, with several climate curveballs thrown at viticulturists during key times during the harvest season. Here, the fruit was handpicked on biodynamic fruit and flower days across five picks from the middle of March to the Super...

"It's easy enough to list the flavours: spearmint, boysenberry, dark chocolate and pure blackcurrant, but it's the arrangement and more so the flamboyant flourish of them that really impresses. This is Dalwhinnie in dynamic good form. Integrated tannin ripples through the back half of the wine, as do sweet woodsmoke characters, and the finish is full of running and then some." 96 points. The Wine Companion Published 02 August 2023   "The region speaks clearly with its spearmint and boysenberry flavours, the latter edging toward blackcurrant, but it’s the integration of the (fine) tannin and the flare of...

DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS 2022 Best in Show The world's greatest red wines often seem infused with a sense of refinement and ease when mature, no matter how dense and impenetrable they appear in youth. This hallmark of this finely crafted Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River is that, youthful as it is, it’s able to convey both density and refined ease simultaneously. In colour it's dark black-purple, and you'll find remarkable fruit concentration and closeness of texture in the mouth. Yet the aromas are warm, open and resonant, pure and unthrusting, and such is the clarity of organisation of the palate, finesse of the...

JAMES HALLIDAY, THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE 2023 From the earliest plantings (in 1987) of the estate. It begins piling on points with the bright, clear colour and doesn't stop with the bouquet of blackcurrant, bay leaf and airy spices, then flowing on in elegant, medium-bodied mode to a perfectly balanced and mouth-watering finish. Something quite special in its Margaret River context. 98 points. LANGTONS CLASSIFIED 8TH EDITION LANGTONS Classification is the most respected secondary market guide to fine and luxury Australian wines. The Classification comprises the most sought-after Australian fine wines based on their strong...

Ray Jordan 96 points, The WA Wine Guide. “Super vintage; super wine. Like the chardonnay from these guys this is as good as anything they have released. Powerhouse blackcurrant, black olive and a little bay leaf. Then there’s the graphite definition. The palate positively sings with bright, high-energy flavours supported by firm chalky tannins and ample oak. Has years ahead of it.’ RJ. James Halliday 95 points. Average 30yo vines, matured 18 months in 25% new French oak. It opens with a savour berry-laden nose characterised by hoisin and anise. Fennel, too. The palate is saturated and ripe, with assertive tannins that...

8 Gold Medals so far.... GOLD MEDALS NATIONAL WINE SHOW OF AUSTRALIA 2021 MARGARET RIVER WINE SHOW 2021 SYDNEY ROYAL WINE SHOW 2022 ROYAL ADELAIDE WINE SHOW 2022 MELBOURNE ROYAL WINE AWARDS 2022 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review. "Cabernet with a sweet-fruited smile on its face. It's ripe and polished with smoked cedar wood slipped hand in glove into pure, ripe cassis, chocolate and peppermint. It's pretty much impossible to review, or drink, this wine without uttering the word 'seductive'. To 2035. 95 points." JH. TASTING NOTES Colour Deep red purple heart with a bright red rim....

Decanter World Wine Awards 2023, 97 points, Trophy, Best Wine at Show. "Made after the warm, Indian-summer vintage of 2018, considered exceptional for Cabernet. The summer warmth is very much apparent in the wine’s aromas, though: a broad, structured upland of currant, plum, black cherry and bramble fruit with just a little menthol to bring freshness and dimension. On the palate, the wine is acid-balanced and smooth, once again throwing a spotlight on to those long, complex fruits. It’s amply accessible already, though its fruit qualities will certainly hold for some years yet."   HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION 2023, 96...

RAY JORDAN'S TOP 100 REDS 2023, 95 points. Pretty, perfumed and powerful. That’s this blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a dollop of Malbec. It’s such a beautifully presented, medium weight wine offering fragrance on the nose and delicacy yet power on the palate. Style and elegance personified.   HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION 2022, 94 points The blend changes depending on the vintage. In 2019, despite the wine's name, it's actually merlot-led. 52/45/1.5/1.5% merlot/cabernet sauvignon/malbec/cabernet franc. ‘Merlot was great in 2019,' says winemaker Matt Byrne. 10 months in a variety of French oak. It...

Gold Medal Melbourne Royal Wine Show 2022. Gold Medal Perth Royal Wine Show 2022. THE WEST AUSTRALIAN WINE GUIDE 2023, 93 points. The panel enjoyed the vibrancy and dense floral/fruit concentration in this wine, so I was not surprised to find out there is 12 per cent malbec in the blend. Value for money is through the roof. This is big on flavour, a little juicy up-front, finishing with plush, dry tannins. Classical blackcurrant, tapenade and cocoa powder. Drink now or cellar and enjoy for up to five years.RJ COLOUR Purple black with a vibrant purple rim. Showcasing a beautifully intense, deep colour from the inclusion of Malbec and the...

James Halliday Wine Companion 91 points. This is sitting very pretty; for all the characters we want and look for in wine, especially one in the low $20s. Cassis, exotic market spice, judiciously utilised oak and length beyond its price-point. Very smart. Erin Larkin. Dark crimson with purple hues. Aromas of blackberries, florals, dark chocolate and bay leaf. The palate is plush and medium bodied with blackcurrant, savoury and spicy flavors. Fine and long tannin structure. #WA

Sourced from a 1991-planted, 1.6h block of cabernet sauvignon that sits on the western side of Greenock Creek. Nary a herbaceous note in sight, the wine presents a rolling swell of red and blackberry and cherry fruits, cut with spice and cedar along with hints of crème de cassis, roasting game and turned earth. Fine, toothsome tannins and a bright sapid line of acidity provide ample cadence and support, finishing long, spicy and awash in pure fruit. 95 points. Dave Brookes Published 06 July 2023   #GC

Deep crimson. Classic cassis, blackberry, black olive tapenade, leafy aromas with vanilla, cedar notes. Well balanced powerful wine with saturated blackcurrant, dark plum, praline, brambly flavours, fine grainy/ al-dente tannins, and underlying cedar oak complexity. Finishes leafy firm with plentiful dark fruits and extract. Superb fruit definition, volume and torque. Cellar for a while. Drink to: 2024 - 2040; Rating: 98 Points; Andrew Caillard MW. Gold Medal - Decanter World Wine Awards It seems this vintage of Thomas Hardy is straight Coonawarra (often it's a multi-regional blend). Excellent dark purple hue. It's deep, rich and...

Houghton was established in 1836, just four years after the fledgling colony of Western Australia was founded. It is one of Australia's oldest operating wineries. Houghton is now the tenth-largest red and white bottle brand in Australia, and sources fruit from every major premium grape-growing region in WA, including Gingin, Margaret River, Frankland River and Mount Barker in the Great Southern, and the emerging Pemberton region. A wine of elegance and fruit power, C.W. Ferguson honours the contribution of early Houghton winemaker Charles William Ferguson. During his time at Houghton, Charles established a solid reputation for Houghton...

Cabernet sauvignon sourced from vineyards in Light Pass and Vine Vale; matured in a selection of 65/35% French/American oak barrels for 16 months. Deep magenta in the glass with aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant and black cherry. Plenty of spice and earth with hints of scattered herbs, licorice and a light dusting of amaro in the background. Deep, resonant and fruit pure, there is structure here for cellaring and a rising ride of rich, blackberry pastille-like fruit on the long finish. 94 points. Dave Brookes Published 02 August 2023.

Wine Advocate 94 points. Classic mint and cassis notes appear on the nose of the 2017 Cuthbert Cabernet Sauvignon. The cool year seems to have benefited the variety, as the wine shows remarkable depth and balance. It's medium-bodied but generous, with ample flesh set against fine-grained, almost silky, tannins. Even after 18 months in French oak (hogsheads and barriques), the oak influence is muted, letting the gorgeous fruit shine on the mouthwatering finish. JC Jul 2020.

Wine Advocate 92 points. The 2018 Blocks Road Cabernet Sauvignon offers up hints of sage, bay leaf and cassis, buttressed by hints of vanilla and cedar. It's medium to full-bodied, smooth and silky, with a line of acidity that runs from the front of the palate through the long, mouthwatering finish. Not a big, huge, ripe Cabernet, it's more about focus and harmony—and for the $30 USD SRP, it's a bargain. JC Aug 2021.

Wine Advocate 90 points. Marked by scents of dried sage and cassis, the 2019 Killerman's Run Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium to full-bodied, velvety-textured wine that should have broad appeal. Ripe and expansive, it delivers concentrated, plush fruit and a long, softly tannic finish. JC Aug 2021 WINERY NOTES: Our Killerman’s Run Cabernet Sauvignon has been crafted through careful fruit selection, traditional winemaking techniques, sixteen months maturation in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads and bottling unfiltered to fully enhance the wines character and appeal. Appearance Brick red in colour with deep crimson hues. Nose The...

The interesting thing here is the tannin. Indeed, as good as the fruit is, tannin is the defining aspect. It spreads from the mid-palate onwards, assertive and dry, fine grained but commanding. It gives a pronounced sense of gravity, but it also calls into question the wine's balance. It otherwise offers trademark blackcurrant, boysenberry, mint and cedar flavours, all of which are delivered in both delicious and substantial volume. 94 points. Campbell Mattinson Published 19 June 2023

Estate grown fruit from the Majella vineyard in Coonawarra. The Composer is a vivid dark magenta red colour with a crimson hue. Lush eucalyptus and red fruit aromas are paired with a bright, flavour filled, medium weighted palate of cassis and red berries. Subtle oak integration enhances the smooth and balanced finish. A plush, juicy and mouthwatering cabernet with great persistence of some lovely, lifted blackberry fruit laced with licorice and mint and soft and fresh lively tannins. Rating: ★★★★★; Equal Top in Category; 98 Points; Winestate Magazine; July August 2022   Trophy: Wine of Show - Cowra Wine Show 2023 Trophy: Best...

JH 95 From the east-facing bottom block, Selectiv'-harvested, primary fermentation in grape bins, 65% of the must (cuvee) 35 days maceration, the other portion on skins for 16 days, the combined parcels matured in French hogsheads (30% new) for 17 months, 190 dozen made. It flaunts its sexy oak in a devil may care reprise. James Halliday Published 01 August 2020. #MAX

"Possibly our best Reserve Cabernet ever. Produced from 66% Fruit Trees block and 34% Main Road block Cabernet Sauvignon. After a warm start to harvest in 2019, the weather cooled down from early March and the Cabernet ripened slowly to perfection in the lovely autumn days which followed. Harvested on April 3 (Fruit Trees) and 17 (Main Road). Beautifully fresh varietal flavours and great tannin structure. We love this wine. The Fruit Trees and Main Road blocks are on deep alluvial soil, with enough clay to retain good moisture and in a site cool enough to ensure slow ripening and high flavour development in the grapes. Noon Reserve...

Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 98 points. James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 97 points. Fruit from a 1996-planted vineyard. Four weeks post-fermentation maceration, matured in French barriques (35% new) for 15 months. Virtually identical winemaking to the Original Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon but, as always, this is the denser, more powerful and structured wine. On the nose there's a core of perfectly ripened black fruits, crushed violets, dark chocolate and graphite. The medium bodied, firmly structured and persistent palate is equally good, and anyone fortunate enough to still have a bottle 10–15 years (if not longer) from now...

Trophy: Best Cabernet HK IWSC 2020. Halliday Wine Companion, 95 points. SA125 clone, 7-day whole berry ferment on skins, 16 months in French oak (35% new). From the Yarraland Vineyard and produced only in outstanding years, Signature keeps true to its Yarra address, lifted and polished with a touch of class. Deep garnet. An essay in letting fruit quality speak true. Pastille, crushed blackberry, clove. Lifted and fine on the palate with subtle forest floor earthiness laced with licorice, fennel. Lingers long. Jeni Port Published 01 August 2020. “Dark purple colour with brick-red edges. Dried herbs, licorice, cassis and hoi-sin –...

Trophy: Best Cabernet Sauvignon - Yarra Valley Wine Show 2018. James Halliday 95 points. Hand-picked and sorted, destemmed whole berries wild-fermented, 15 months in hogsheads (30% new). An elegant medium-bodied cabernet with clear varietal expression courtesy of blackcurrant fruit and fine tannin structure. Gold medal Yarra Valley Wine Show '18. James Halliday Published 01 August 2019. Yarra’s best kept secret is the quality of its cabernet. With depth and structure, this cabernet boasts big fruit and smooth tannins. The 2017 vintage was named the best cabernet in the region at the 2018 Yarra Valley Wine Show. WINE NOTES Colour:...

GOLD MEDAL – 2020 Wine Show of Western Australia. James Halliday 93 points. Curranty, boysenberried, smooth-skinned wine with decent shape and length. Tight and closed on first opening and so decanting is definitely advised. Medium in weight but finished with a good strike of dry tannin. It still manages to feel balanced, if only just. Time in a cool, dark space won't do it any harm. Campbell Mattinson Published 01 August 2020. COLOUR Deep crimson with a purple hue. NOSE Displaying a perfumed nose of dark berries and savoury characters. PALATE The palate is full of juicy berries and earthy notes that are well supported by fine...

Certified Biodynamic. James Halliday Wine Companion 92 points. Whole berry fermented as is the wont at this address, helping to facilitate the notable culture of minimal additions at the end of it all. Thereafter, 18 months in larger and smaller used French wood. This is delicious maritime cabernet Easy going, mind you. Far from a behemoth, or a wine than needs extensive cellaring. Sage and bay leaf notes, offsetting olive, blackcurrant and other dark fruits. The oak is well nestled, providing a framework rather than a forcefield. Long and succulent. Ned Goodwin MW Published 01 August 2020 COLOUR Deep ruby red BOUQUET Blackcurrant, a touch...

Stelvin Closure. Wine Companion 97 points. "The 64th vintage. A wine of provenance. A wine of excellence. It ages superbly, yet is flattering when young. Perfect fruit at its core, with gentle flavours of cassis, blackberries and blueberries. It has depth, length and line, thanks to the fine, detailed tannins. Classy cabernet. This is up there as one of the finest to date. Bravo." 97 points. Jane Faulkner -  98 Points, James Halliday's Top 100 Wines of 2021; - Jeni Port; 95 points, Wine Pilot; - Huon Hooke; 96 points, The Real Review; - Tony Love; 96 points, Wine Pilot; - Ray Jordan; 97 points.