Product Line - Australia
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Yarra Yering Agincourt 2018Could this be any more aromatic, with its perfect mix of florals, fruit and spice? The savouriness of (30%) malbec comes through as a mere accompaniment to the heady cabernet. Oak remains in the background, tannins are perfectly judged and acidity is bright. It promises to delight now and for some years hence. (96) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion2019Cabernet BlendsAustralia506$120.00 As low as $108.00 -
Mac Forbes Hugh Cabernet Blend 202145% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot & 5% Petit Verdot. 10% whole bunch, open fermenters on skins for 16 days, 13 months in old large and small format oak
A vibrant nose of fresh cranberry, dark cherry and crushed herbs with a hint of coriander seed and baking spice. Palate is long and luscious with silky elegant tannins, pure red fruits and a sinewy freshness that draws the wine all the way back. All varieties working in perfect harmony. Delicious now, but will reward careful cellaring. MAC FORBES
2021Cabernet BlendsAustralia506$75.00 As low as $67.50 -
Grosset Gaia 2022The blend in 2022 is 85/15% cabernet sauvignon/cabernet franc. A hauntingly beautiful rendition of Gaia that's svelte, even, succulent and impressive in persistence. There's immense concentration in its medium weight, compact frame, and tannins shimmer with emery board grip and drag stretching the wine out and tucking in the darker fruit, spice and herbal details. The perfume is rich in dark berries, black olive, mint and fennel with some woody spice overlay – lovely stuff here, too. The quality of tannin needs additional mention. This is such an impressive, elegant wine. MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion2019Cabernet BlendsAustralia377$120.00 -
Wynns Messenger Cabernet Sauvignon 2021As soon as you put your nose close to this wonderful single vineyard Cabernet you know you are in the heady zone of Coonawarra. The vineyard is located in the southern end of the Terra Rosa strip and displays a silky smooth and highly perfumed character. Bright red and black fruits on the nose with a subtle cedary oak influence. Fine chalky tannins and super fine-grained oak work their magic to bring the wine to life. Brilliant and alive through its long finish. Outstanding. (97) RAY JORDON, the west Australian
The Messenger Vineyard, a dry-grown plot in the southern section of Coonawarra’s Terra Rossa strip, shows perfume and silkiness in a mild year like 2021. It’s deceptive, with the flavours running long and fine on the current of a long, slender acid stream, but there’s lots of dark muscle lurking beneath the pleasant blackberry entry – a brooding, heavy-browed dangerman, reclining back in a creaky old leather Chesterfield, but when exactly will he pounce? That coiled-spring element of danger keeps you returning to this wine. So testy and willing for a medium-bodied wine, showing that Cabernet doesn’t have to be bloated and hefty to pack a punch. (96) DAVID SLY, decanter
Very deep, dark, brooding purple-red colour with a similarly brooding bouquet of blackberry, licorice, soy sauce, coffee grounds and creme de cassis, without any of the greener herbal elements of cabernet. The palate is intense and concentrated and backs up with taut, firm tannins which are nevertheless well measured and balanced. A very concentrated, plush, almost essency cabernet with a terrifically long carry, which will reward long-term cellaring. (97) HUON HOOKE, the real review
15 months in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads (16% new). A basket of collected blackberries and thistle. Fresh prune plums and bilberry. Allspice, clove and black peppercorn. Turned earth, granite and coal. Morello mushroom and undergrowth. There is juniper and wisps of lavender. Pinpoint acidity and laser focus to this cabernet. It drives seamlessly across the palate and pulls at the heartstrings. A stunning drink now and in 15 to 20 years. (96) GOLD MEDAL, SHANTEJ WAHL, www.winecompanion.com
2021Cabernet BlendsAustralia381$82.00 As low as $73.80 -
Mount Horrocks Cabernet Sauvignon 2022From biodynamically (certified) grown vines. This switches things up for the general character of Clare Valley cabernet wines, lighter, brighter, frisky almost, lots of greenery and peppery spice, almost minty elements in dark chocolate, cassis, boysenberry characters to taste. There's a crispness to the wine, bright and lively, the herbaceous notes leading the way but not totally defining the wine. Fine, light tannins hold court. The perfume matches the flavours, a big fog of freshness, herbal detail and almost a sense of 'purple' if synesthesia is your thing. All up, a wine of vigour and good energy, though you'll be wanting cabernet on the more vibrant side overall. MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion2022Cabernet BlendsAustralia377$60.00 As low as $54.00 -
Walsh & Sons Lola Red Syrah/Cab/Merlot 202260% Syrah 25% Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Grenache, They say “perfect with your favourite wood-fired pizza (hold the pineapple)”, though I like pineapple on pizza. Gino D’Acampo would have conniptions.
Plenty of flavour of red and blue fruits, bay leaf, a dusting of spice. Medium-bodied, quite fleshy, some earthy/sooty tannin sweeps through it, with a soft and supple finish of blue fruits and spice. Length is moderate, but OK. Good wine. Easy to like. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front
2022Cabernet Blends, Merlot, shirazAustralia504$30.00 As low as $27.00 -
Forest Hill Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon 2022It feels like this pocket of Mount Barker does well with this variety. Very well. Bold scents of cassis, lavender, bay leaf and sea spray with well-judged clove and cinnamon spice. Refreshing and succulent to taste, spot-on medium weight, though the levity and vitality make it feel prettier than that. Dark fruit flavours but lots of herb and spice too, tannins in tow are ultrafine and, again, mineral-charged, all pulverised stone and talc. This has great mojo and feels as fancy as it is highly drinkable. What excitement! 95 MIKE BENNIE, wine companion
2022Cabernet BlendsAustralia$70.00 As low as $63.00 -
Balnaves Cabernet Merlot 2021A bit of a dearth of Balnaves reviews in recent years, and indeed, Coonawarra too. 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot
Blackberry and blackcurrant, dark mint chocolate, liquorice, tobacco and cedar. It’s pushing into full-bodied, but gee, there’s a rich swell of dark fruit here, and it’s also kind of ferrous/earthy, but fresh and vibrant with it, some dried raspberry, firm and grainy tactile tannin grip, sporting excellent length, and there’s maybe a bit of iodine to close. This is a pretty serious wine for the money. I like it a lot. GARY WALSH, the wine front
2021Cabernet BlendsAustralia381$33.00 As low as $29.70 -
Penfolds Bin 707 1998This monumental 1998 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later.
This is a ‘wow’ wine. Mint and blackcurrant, strong and straight. Oak here has been majorly consumed – though what wouldn’t succumb to such a boom of gorgeous, dark fruit flavour? Big tannin, big minty fruit, quite phenomenal. Length and purity. A star. 2030. (96) CAMPBELL MATTINSON
The outstanding 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 is a thick, rich, full-bodied Cabernet emphasizing copious quantities of cassis fruit. Pure, with nicely integrated oak, acidity, and tannin, it cuts a broad swath across the palate. While still young and grapy, this 1998 is loaded with potential. ROBERT PARKER1998Cabernet BlendsAustralia$615.00 As low as $553.50 -
Bleasdale Vineyards Frank Potts Cabernet Blend 2020A 76/15/7/2% blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec, petit verdot and merlot. Bright, near vivid, crimson; an elegant cabernet-driven wine, with notes of cedar, cigar box and cassis on the bouquet and palate alike. It's medium bodied and lithe, an English gentleman's claret. Drink by 2030. 95 points.James Halliday2020Cabernet BlendsAustralia483$37.00