2023 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon and Red Wine of the Year. Score awarded by the Halliday tasting panel at the annual Awards judging. JF writes: A beautifully structured wine with detail everywhere, from the aromas to the flavours: the violets, the dark fruit, spices and integrated oak. Everything is in its rightful place and in harmony. The palate comes coated in such perfectly shaped fine tannins, the finish is persistent, and flavours linger. A glorious cabernet. Bravo.

My lord. What an impressive wine this is. The 2023 season in Western Australia was a ripper—perhaps the best the state has seen through the lens of both red and white varieties, and never was that more apparent than here, in the 2023 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Everything feels "just so." The tannins complement and extend the fruit, which is supple and juicy; the acidity frames the finish, and the length is long. The oak is also a feature of this wine, insofar as it feels toasty (but not too toasty), supportive (yet it doesn't swamp) and attractively chewy. This is a tremendously impressive wine, one that you should make great efforts to acquire.

This is another of the wines I awaited with some degree of expectation, and like pretty much every cabernet out of twenty-three, it has not failed to deliver. It has exceeded my expectations. It's a blend of 92% cabernet, with equal proportions of malbec and petit verdot, and comes from a number of different vineyard areas, including Wilyabrup, Wallcliffe, and Treeton. It's immensely bright and vibrant, with tremendous and sustained power coursing through. But like all of these wines, it's in the medium-bodied zone with a high degree of elegance and poise. Lots of black fruits on the nose, but then there's a little blue fruit influence and a touch of rich plumminess. It's had about fourteen months in oak, of which about 40% was new, and yet the oak is never obvious and sits seamlessly within a harmoniously balanced palate. Tannins are super fine and help the wine retain its incredible palate persistence. A really first-rate example of cabernet from this season.

Strictly speaking, there is a small splash of Malbec (4%) and Petit Verdot (4%) nestling in among the Cabernet berries. Altogether, it is a Margaret River Cabernet at its flawless best but, first, some airtime is recommended. I gave it two hours and then it was swimming in Marg’s beauty bringing all manner of black berries, blue fruits, dried herbs, liquorice, allspice, cassia bark and some arresting violet florals to the fore. Smooth running all the way, but also well-formed and structurally firm, dense in fine tannins. Beautifully presented and runs perfectly with a freshness, something that we rarely comment on with top-flight cabernets, but something quite integral to their lasting appeal. And this most definitely has lasting appeal.

Deep bright red-purple hue; a beautifully perfumed nose of cassis and mulberry backed by cedar/sandalwood/talcy oak derived scents. Delicious fruit/oak combination on palate: intense and powerful yet also very elegant. This is a baby and needs time to come together better but will be worth the wait.