2019 Single Vineyard Cabernets

Recent awards over the last decade have established Margaret River as a world-class region for growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, with these four varieties making up the highly acclaimed Single Vineyard Cabernets.

Senior Winemaker Matt Byrne was inspired by the incredible 2019 vintage and wanted to showcase these incredible varieties in a Bordeaux-style wine to highlight the exquisite Margaret River terroir.

This Merlot-driven blend drives the spicy, fresh and focused flavour profile, with hallmark varietal flavours of dark berry, cedar and choc-vanilla. This stunning wine showcases Matt's masterful blending skills, with renowned wine writer Ray Jordan stating it is "Style and elegance personified" and the Halliday Wine Companion team labelling this blend as "Cracking value."

colour

Bright, deep ruby red with a vibrant purple rim.

aroma

Ripe redcurrant with a touch of cassis and mulberry overlaid by leafy, violet aromas and dusty cedar notes.

palate

Mid-palate wine with remarkable dark fruit flavours allowing for the freshness, and acidity to shine through. A true representation of a Margaret River Cabernet.

cellaring

Drinking beautifully now or keep for up to six years from vintage.

vintage

A prolonged cool and wet growing season meant the vines were lush and healthy heading into ripening. This resulted in later harvest dates, accentuated by the cool and wet ripening months; conditions not experienced in Western Australia for more than ten years. These conditions, coupled with the absence of heat events, produced highly aromatic reds with pristine natural acidity. 

winemaking

Restrained winemaking was adopted in the making of this wine from harvest through to bottling. Each variety was cold soaked on skins for five days at ~8C before being partially wild fermented in separate small open fermenters. When the decision was made to press each ferment off skins, the pressings component was included for each to impart body and flavour into the final wine. Each variety was still kept separate at this stage and throughout the entire ten months of maturation in French oak. Hogsheads (300L barrels) were used for the Cabernet Sauvignon component with puncheons (500L barrels) being used on the other varieties and only 10% being new. This oak selection and duration of maturation ensured perfume and freshness were retained whilst also ensuring a silky and refined palate along with evident complexity. 

region

Margaret River

varieties

analysis

• Alcohol: 14.5%
• pH: 3.49
• TA 6.47 g/L

Fabulous with a herb-crusted roast rack of Western Australian lamb. 

Sydney Royal Wine Show 2021

margaret river wine show 2020

wine show of western australia 2020

Ray Jordan's Top 100 Reds 2023

Pretty, perfumed and powerful. That’s this blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a dollop of Malbec. It’s such a beautifully presented, medium weight wine offering fragrance on the nose and delicacy yet power on the palate. Style and elegance personified.

95

Halliday wine companion 2022

The blend changes depending on the vintage. In 2019, despite the wine's name, it's actually merlot-led. 52/45/1.5/1.5% merlot/cabernet sauvignon/malbec/cabernet franc. ‘Merlot was great in 2019,' says winemaker Matt Byrne. 10 months in a variety of French oak. It leads the charge in this spicy, succulent wine which offers up a balanced feast of fine tannins, plush (but also lean and focused) fruit and salty acid. Cracking value.

The Real Review 2021

Deep, bright red/purple colour, with a fragrant raspberry aroma, clean, fresh and charming, if a tad straightforward. A lacing of crushed leaves. The palate is likewise, deliciously fruity and bright with medium to full-body and firm tannins, which are well judged to balance the wine. A vibrant young cabernet with a bright future. 

James Suckling 2022

A fruity and juicy red with redcurrants, plums and cherries. Some vanilla. Full-bodied, layered and soft. Crunchy at the end. Drink now.

The West Australian Wine Guide 2021

A highly perfumed cabernet blend from the Wildberry Springs vineyard. Scents of violet and blackcurrant with an edgier note of block olive. Firmish tannins and savoury oak work well. It’s bright and medium-bodied, and a good reflection of this cool Margaret River vintage. Cellar six years.