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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 -
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