The Noble Grape is a bit on the nose at the moment.
Perceived by some as being bony, hard of tannins and shy of revealing fruit, Cabernets are long way from their heyday of 20 years ago, when they outsold Shiraz. These days, the willingness to cellar, always Cabernet friend isn't really there, and 'good to go right now' wines are in ascendancy.
BUUUUUT ... we love it dearly and know that with the right fruit and the right gifted winemaker, assertively angular tannins and bony acidity make way for ethereal perfumes, generously jubey fruit and a massive smile on the head of whoever is drinking them. So here's a 'no bones' and 100% beautiful baker's doz of Cabernet for your consideration.
2 stunners from Kilikanoon lead the way and Briar Ridge's complex, Halliday 95 pointer slides in effortlessly behind. Ditto, Dandelion's 96 point Coonawarra beauty, Longview's Trophy winning stunner and Dowie Doole's tiny production, 96 point work of genius. These really are all magical- just double decant an hour or so before drinking!
Oh, the 13th bottle!?
Cab is well known for ageing beautifully, so we've scrounged around and found a small quantity of Zonte's Blackberry Patch Cab from 2017. It's drinking beautifully and we doff our Cab to it!
Oodles of cassis here, buckets of plum, heaps of cigar box aromas and bountiful blackcurrants, Slap in the middle of a very happy drinking place. Soft tannins to finish.
A varietal and regional expression of Clare Valley Cabernet with piercing clarity of fruit, which is to say, an absolute delight. Violets, blackberries, plum, sage, bay leaf, mint, liquorice, curlicues of French oak and fine, waxy, supple tannins. Off script though, because this is massive - a huge mouthful - and yet expressive, somehow elegant, with a fluidity of movement and visibility of detail which belie the hulking muscularity. Imagine a director firing Nureyev as the male lead in Swan Lake because Chewbacca auditioned better. Then pour another glass.
96pts Kim Brebach, 95pts Wine Pilot, 94pts Sam Kim
Only tiny quantities are made of this wine, which is the product of the finest of Dowie Doole's A-grade Cabernet fruit from each vintage. '21 being an incredible vintage has elevated this even further. The previous vintage picked up 96 points from Kim Brebach who said,
"Decades ago, I had the privilege of tasting a group of Barolos and Barbarescos made by Giovanni Gaia. These wines had layers of deep flavour, ranging from smoked meats and old leather to licorice, gravel dust and tar. The Dowie Doole Architect reminded me of those wines because it had some of those characters, even if the expression was more restrained. Give it time, and I think you’ll be richly rewarded. If the price seems steep, keep in mind that a Barbaresco from Gaia will set you back $600."
The '21 is better again than the exceptional 2019 vintage, and represents a barrel selection chosen from only A-grade parcels from the old, dry-grown Blewitt Springs vineyard. There's black fruits, licorice, richness, density and layers. A stunning wine that will live for a very long time
95pts Sam Kim, 94pts Wine Pilot, 94pts Kim Brebach
A varietally fragrant, medium-bodied, and intensely fruited Cabernet from the Kilikanoon stable. Violets, black cherries, and blackcurrants announce themselves on the nose and then invite themselves in to lie on a plush bed of tannin fluffed atop a selection of gorgeous cedar. A superb Cab from perhaps the Clare Valley's finest producer.
95pts James Halliday, 95pts Sam Kim, 94pts Kim Brebach
Dark fruits and chocolate and a burst of rosewater on the nose. Black and blue fruits and cedar in the mouth. Tannis are fine and supple, making this particularly enjoyable now - but don't be afraid to chuck this away for a decade either.
A-grade Coonawarra Cab fruit. 30% brand new French Oak for 18 months. A beautiful blue and red fruits meet tomato leaf nose. Blackcurrants, mint, chocolate, tobacco and plentiful, slightly grainy tannins. Rare to med-rare steak, or roast lamb. Happy. Sated.
A tightly coiled Cab that needs a little coaxing by way of an hour or 2 in the decanter. While that's happening, turn your thoughts to lamb and what you might be eating in an hour or 2 when the wine is cherry ripe. Funnily enough, we found cherries here, along with blackcurrant, cocoa, tomato leaf and a plushness emerging from an intense baseline once the wine had gulped a little air. You can see the promise on opening, but post decanting, the Trophy and gold medals this wine has won make a great deal of sense.
