Penola is one of the original producers in Coonawarra and they have a long and healthy track record with their Cabernet. This wine is elegant and well balanced with loads of dark fruits, a decent dollop of spicy oak and impressive length and character. It is medium bodied and finishes with nice some tannic grip. This is a Coonawarra Cabernet that will save on the purse strings and amaze the senses. Pairs up perfectly with a rich beef dish.

2006 Patrick of Coonawarra Home Block Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes were grown at the Toccaciu Coonawarra estate, and the wine was matured for 26 months in French and American oak; while I am not a fan of ProCork, this is a very attractive wine, which has cruised through six, rising seven, years, the cassis and cedar flavours supported by very fine but persistent tannins.

It has a classic lift of essential Cabernet fruit aromas, a perfume of dark mulberries with a lift of white mulberries, tayberries and bramble-berries that have been baked with a fresh pie crust. A great heady aroma with rich red ripe fruits but also some hints of crushed violets and whiffs of mushrooms, olives, dried herbs and suggestions of briar and undergrowth wisping in and out. There is also a shot of old school glossy tri-coloured boiled sweets character to this most complex Coonawarra Cabernet. Two years in oak has allowed a meshing of some spice and cedar oak maturation to complex.

The Mythology Cabernet Sauvignon is a tribute to ancient practices, with its own origin embedded in the richness of the Coonawarra soils and the artistry of traditional winemaking techniques. Dense dark fruits with brilliantly aromatics of raspberries and plums, dark chocolate and vanilla bean. Full bodied with lovely tannins, complemented by well-balanced French oak and a wonderfully long structured finish.

Full bodied rich and complex, the colour is dark. The aroma is lifted with varietal characters and oaky scent. A wine that can be enjoyed on its own or with food.Spice, dark chocolate, tannin, juicy fruit characters, blood plums and cassis berries. French oak new and reused 18 months.

HARDY'S Thomas Hardy Cabernet, Coonawarra, Margaret River

In 2004, similar vintage conditions to the iconic 1962 vintage, inspired Penfolds winemakers to recreate Max Schuberts iconic wine. Cabernet Sauvignon from Block 20, alongside Koonunga Hill and Kalimna Shiraz, were included in the 2004 Penfolds Bin 60A blend.