Moss Wood Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River Moss Wood is one of the Margaret River originals (planted 1969; first vintage 1973) and this iconic flagship wine Langtons Classified since 1990 has long been Western Australias leading Cabernet Sauvignon. Figures from the cellarage company Wine Ark show that it consistently rates as Australias Most Collected Cabernet. Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is intensely perfumed and finely structured with cassis-blackcurrant aromas, hints of cedar and touches of violet. The oak and fruit are neatly balanced. With proven ageing potential the wine develops subtle earth/demi-glace briar characters on the bouquet, and complexity and suppleness on the palate. The unirrigated and widely spaced vineyard (now 14.86-hectares) is planted on gentle north-east facing slopes with sandy loams to a gravelly red/brown loams over clay. Typically the fruit is hand-picked, de-stemmed into open tanks and hand-plunged four times a day until completion of fermentation. At the end of vinification, the wine is allowed to macerate for around 10 to 14 days prior to pressing off into barrel. The wine is matured in 30% new and seasoned French oak barriques for 24 months.
Dating back over 800 years in the Bordeaux region, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is owned today by Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The estate also features a world class spa, which specialises in Vinotherapie - using grape extracts in many of their treatments. Up until the year 2000, the estate was not known for producing top quality wines, however in the capable hands of the Cathiard family and after over a decade of hard work and reinvention, the wines truly began to come into their own. It has been, in the words of Andrew Caillard, an astonishing ascendancy in the past 15 years, and given the sterling reviews the 2016 vintage has received, its trajectory seems set to continue its meteoric rise.
CHATEAU SMITH-HAUT-LAFITTE Rouge Grand cru classe 2025
One of the original Second Growths of the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, Rauzan-Ségla's 51 hectares of mineral rich soils begin on the banks of the Gironde, on the left bank of Bordeaux. A complex mix of gravel, clay and limestone subsoil imparts a richness and complexity to the Cabernet (62%), Merlot (36%), Cabernet Franc (1%) and Petit Verdot (1%) grapes used to produce this powerfully intense and elegant wine. The estate was last sold in 1994 to the Wertheimer family of Chanel, who employed former Château Latour winemakers, David Orr and John Kolasa. Nicolas Audebert, the former winemaker at Cheval des Andes, the LVMH property in Mendoza Argentina, was hired to succeed John Kolasa following his retirement in 2014.
Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon is the icon Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Named after Coonawarra pioneer, pastoralist and parliamentarian, John Riddoch, this Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the very best of Wynns vast planting in Coonawarra and it only made in the years that best express Wynns strive for excellence. Arguably richer and more complex from comparable styles in the region, John Riddoch Cabernet is highly sought after and extremely limited.
Vanya Cullen continues to amaze the world with her brilliantly flavoursome and elegant Cabernet named after Di Cullen, a true pioneer. Vanya is also pioneering in her own style with the introduction to 100% bio-dynamics and the results are to there to be seen by all. The highest possible Langon's Classification is bestowed upon this wine and with it's agability is one for the true wine lover and collector. [Biodynamic]
The Château Les Ormes De Pez is an evocative Saint-Estèphe blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Age will be kind to this Bordeaux, allowing the palate to round and develop. A touch of sweetness on the nose meets with rich cassis, herbs, and liquorice. On the palate, you will taste candied violets and juicy blackberry, with grippy tannings and a refreshing line of acid. A full-bodied Bordeaux from one of the top value château of Saint-Estèphe, it finishes long and lingering.
Is this Australia's best Chardonnay? If not then it shares the rarified air reserved for only the finest examples. Rich yet restrained, with mineral notes, cashew and almond meal, amazing fruit complexity and wonderful length...why not try the benchmark?
Yalumba continue to produce amazing quality, premium wines for a fraction of the price they could demand. The Menzies is prime example with rich, blackcurrant and cassis fruit with integrated oak that fills the mouth.