Yalumba The Menzies Coonawarra Cabernet Cabernet 2020
G 95
Famously named after our longest serving Prime Minister, who expressed his admiration for a previous incarnation, the Menzies Vineyard, planted in 1975, sits on terra rossa soil at the heart of Coonawarra. The usual plan is for the wine to spend a year and a half maturing in a mix of French and Hungarian oak, hogsheads and barriques, with a small percentage new. Under cork. A deep red/ maroon colour here, the nose is utterly gorgeous and will delight Cabernet fans immensely. We have cassis, tobacco leaves, a touch of leather and animal skins, mulberries, woodsmoke, chocolate, florals, blackberries, and aniseed. This is seamless, has excellent oak integration and good intensity, with a very long finish. Well structured, the balance, intensity and finesse never waver. Satiny tannins are found on the persistent finish. One of the best Menzies I have seen. Drink now–2045 Yalumba Tri-Centenary Ancestor Vines Grenache 2023 G 95 This may not have been the first wine to reveal the glories of Barossa Grenache, if treated with the respect it deserves, but it was certainly one of the early examples and always impresses. This wine spent an extraordinary 333 days on skins as a post-ferment maceration. The fruit comes from just 820 old bush vines, which were planted back in 1889. Just 4839 bottles made. A very pale crimson hue here, but one which is gleaming. The nose is all strawberries, cherries, dried herbs and truffles, with hints of smoked meats. The wine is bright, fresh, exhibiting vibrant acidity, a silky texture with satiny tannins and a lingering finish. This is a juicy style of Grenache, ideal for those who find the big reds of the Barossa a bit much for them (no, I don’t understand that either). A 15-year proposition, though already delicious. Drink now–2040 Arila Gardens Moppa Grenache 2023 G 94+ Medium-deep crimson. Violet, musky strawberry red cherry aromas and flavours, slinky textures and attractive mid-palate viscosity. Builds chalky/ graphite/ touch ferruginous firmness towards the finish. Prismatic and intriguing. Drink now–soon Chateau Tanunda 50 Year Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 G 94+ Deep crimson. Pure blackcurrant, mocha, hint black olive aromas with violet notes. Richly flavoured blackcurrant, mocha flavours and fine slinky firm tannins. Very good mid-palate volume and mineral length. Touch of walnut at the finish. Drink now–2034 Elderton Ode to Lorraine Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot 2022 G 94+ Medium-deep crimson. Blackcurrant, cedar spice, mocha aromas. Generous and inky textured with cassis, blackberry dark chocolate flavours, grainy firm tannins and well-balanced marzipan vanilla notes. Finishes cedar firm and minerally. Attractive maturation complexity and flow. Drink now–2040
South Australia Wine Guide 2026 | Barossa
99
Powered by FlippingBook