Peter Forrestal - author of wine guide Quaff and wine columns for the Sunday Times Magazine and the Quaff website – sheds some light on cabernet sauvignon and cabernet blends.
To challenge the notion that cabernet is unpopular, here is a diverse bunch to thrill the palate. While there are plenty that will give immediate satisfaction, a few need the benefits of restraint and patience to show their best.
01 Heartland 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, $17
What you’re looking for at this price is drinkability. Here is a blend from Langhorne Creek and the Limestone Coast, and winemaker Ben Glaetzer, which delivers just that. It’s juicy, succulent, almost syrupy smooth with redcurrant jube and blackcurrant flavours before a gentle finish that lingers.
02 Peter Lehmann 2004 Cabernet Merlot, $18
While the Barossa is not a great region for cabernet, it can produce some excellent quaffing wines in a good vintage like this. The team from Peter Lehmann has fashioned a deeply viscous, slippery red with dark cherry and blackcurrant flavours and fine, ripe tannins.
03 Evans & Tate 2004 Margaret River Cabernet Merlot, $20
This red is made in sufficient volume to keep its price down. It is unctuous, almost velvety with an excellent mouthfeel. Its oakiness is matched by dark plum and blackcurrant flavours and ripe, approachable tannins.
04 Ferngrove 2005 Majestic Cabernet Sauvignon, $25
Frankland River in WA’s deep south has produced a cabernet worthy of standing alongside Houghton’s Jack Mann with this bewilderingly good show stopper. It was named best wine at the 2006 Qantas Mt Barker Show. It’s a fresh, elegant red with bright, sweet blackcurrant flavours, lush and velvety texture, and gentle, fine tannins.
05 Zema 2003 Cluny, $25
They’re celebrating the Zema 30th anniversary with a terrific range of Coonawarra reds. This blend of cabernet (60 per cent), merlot (23 per cent), cabernet franc (nine per cent) and malbec (eight per cent) is delicately scented, supple, round and fleshy with rich, concentrated, ripe red berry fruit, seamlessly integrated oak and substantial yet approachable tannins.
06 Majella 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, $30
Majella has had one of Coonawarra’s most consistent and best-performed cabernets over the past decade. Eight trophies underline what a brilliant vintage 2004 was: opulent and powerful, deep and lavishly flavoured, lush and velvety. It needs time, but is supple enough to reward even the impatient.
07 Parker 2004 Terra Rossa Cabernet Sauvignon, $35
If money is no object, drink this while waiting five to 10 years for the Parker First Growth ($80) to come around. Otherwise, just enjoy this seductive, generous, velvety textured, lush and richly concentrated cabernet when you need something memorable for a chilly winter’s evening.
08 Wolf Blass 2004 Grey Label Cabernet Sauvignon, $40
This results from Wolf Blass’s long association with Langhorne Creek and its substantial resources. It is a vibrant cabernet with heaps of oak and tannins and deep blackberry and blackcurrant flavours to provide balance. Impressive and approachable.
09 Knappstein 2004 Enterprise Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, $42
This single-vineyard Clare red from dry-grown, 35-year-old vines is the latest of Paul Smith’s wines to excel. It is powerfully structured with lashings of attractive blackberry and mulberry flavours neatly integrated with vanilla bean, French oak, satiny texture and supple fine tannins.
10 Cullen 2004 Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot, $90
Vanya Cullen carries her biodynamic torch with flair as she continues to make Australia’s best cabernet blend. This has wonderful freshness and vibrance while remaining tightly coiled and restrained. It is opulent, powerful and silky smooth, needing careful cellaring to show its best.
See 40 winter reds, Part four: other reds
Source: Qantas the Australian Way July 2007
Updated: July 2008