Cabernet sauvignon
2021 Best’s Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Great Western
If this wine auditioned for a role in the film adaptation of Remains of the Day it would get the part in a heartbeat. It’s just so exquisitely well mannered. Ultrafine tannin, perfectly ripened fruit, the line of acidity placed just so. Even the oak wraps smokily around the herb notes, as if to ensure that they don’t appear too loud. This mid-weight cabernet would make the perfect butler to the finest of meals. CM
95 points, $25
2020 Cherubino Cherubino Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River
It’s not common to describe a two-year-old cabernet as charming, but this is what you get here. There’s juicy cassis fruit, quality cedary French oak, and perfectly pitched tannins. I agree with the back label that the wine will gain in richness and complexity over the next 10 to 15 years, but I also argue the cause of the wine (right) now. JH
97 points, $75
2020 Reschke Wines Bull Trader Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
Coonawarra cabernet, on a platter. Blackcurrant and bay leaf flavours gradually merge into chocolate, tobacco, dust and plum. There’s a classic aspect to this, both in its flavour profile and in its structure. It’s mid-weight in the best of ways. Drink this now or later; it has both angles covered. Add price into the equation and you have an irresistible offering. CM
93 points, $20
2018 Tim Gramp Wines Basket Pressed Watervale Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Valley
Slick with satiny tannins, imbued with blueberry and mulberry fruit characters, seasoned with clove and cigar box savoury elements – and generally looking/tasting a bit claret-like. This is ready for drinking now and doing cabernet in the Clare Valley proud. This was tasted on a cool day in a cool cellar, and it worked like that – don’t drink it without 10 minutes in the fridge, is the message. It’s pitched perfectly, and is a gem. MB
93 points, $24
2021 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
Such fine-grained tannin, such even-handed fruit, such a lengthy finish. This is a beautiful Black Label cabernet, elegantly mediumbodied, blessed with blackcurrant, forest berry, cool mint and cedar characters, and tempered by tobacco-like leaf notes. This will be a gorgeous drink with a few extra years on it. CM
96 points, $45
2019 Bloodwood Cabernet Sauvignon, Orange
The joys of perfectly ripe, cool-climate cabernet sauvignon berries can be found right here. Blackberries, juniper, Kalamata olive and wild thyme are quickly chased by charcoal, pepperberry and clove. The patience shown by Stephen and Rhonda Doyle can always be banked upon, with years in bottle before release, in this case, two years in their cellar. That time has softened out grainy tannins to a silty, powdery texture with perky acidity that has staying power. This is drinking exceptionally well now and will continue to cellar for a decade. It’s a stunner of a wine at an unbeatable price. SW
95 points, $36
2020 Balnaves Of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
This wine is perfectly structured and flavoured. Blackcurrant, dark chocolate, bay leaf and violet flavours come threaded with tobacco and assorted fragrant herbs. It’s all built on tannin, in a way, and yet regardless the fruit flavours flood straight through, like a wave. Stand atop the bow of this wine, peer out towards the horizon, and that’s where this wine’s future lies. CM
96 points, $40