The fruit for this wine was sourced from vineyards throughout the Clare Valley. The vintage conditions were cool and mild which resulted in a long harvest season. Low yields and the mild conditions brought out the varietal characters of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The vintage produced wines of concentrated colour with fine elegant tannins and great mouth-feel.

The Annie’s Lane Cabernet Merlot is a vibrant deep red in the glass. This wine displays fragrant aromas of blackcurrant, chocolate and mint. The palate reflects these aroma’s and is rich, soft and balanced with subtle integrated oak and fine, grainy tannins. The finish is elegant and lingering with dark fruit characters.

The Annie's Lane Cabernet Merlot 2008 is a superb choice suitable for all year round and a winning favourite among Australian wine lovers. Deep red with hints of purple hues, Annie's Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2008 displays an enticing bouquet of lifted blackcurrant, cassis and ripe brambly fruits, balanced by soft varietal tannins that provide excellent length on the finish. A delicious wine by itself, whilst also completing dishes of duck or beef Bourgogne for any romantic candlelit dinners you might be planning this autumn. Femail

A soft and generous medium-bodied blend with a liberal richness of plum and blackcurrant together with some nice spiciness. Fine tannins and subtle oak complete the picture. Good current-drinking wine. 88/100; RAY JORDAN, The West Australian

This blend is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Two years in French oak and two years bottle maturation produce a classical wine of elegance with complex flavours and fine tannins, an excellent example of the Margaret River "Bordeaux" style.

To be precise, it is 'a blend mostly of cabernet sauvignon, with the remainder merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot'; it has an elegant but complex medium-bodied palate with fine-grained tannins rippling through the blackcurrant/cassis flavours, finishing with touches of cedar, spice and earth. Rating: 94 Points Drink: 2020 Price: $29.00 Alcohol: 14% James Halliday Wine Companion, June 2011

Since the initial planting of vines, Balnaves vineyard has grown steadily and now covers a total of fifty six hectares of choice Coonawarra Terra Rossa, principally to Cabernet. The vineyard is divided into small blocks of between one and two hectares, the quality of wine from each block is evaluated each year and recorded. The final assemblage carries wines from the Dead Morris and Quarry blocks. Components were treated to barrel fermentation and/or an extended period of maceration. Balnave Cabernet has spent sixteen months maturing in a combination of tight grain French oak barrels from the Seguin Moreau, Saury, Taransaud and St Martin cooperages, before fining and bottling under procork

Deep rich red in colour. The nose is perfumed with aromas of ripe cassis, liquorice, and some spicy notes, with subtle vanillan oak. The palate is lean and structured with tight cassis fruit and firmer tannins from a cooler year. A deeply satisfying wine upon release, Balnave will reward careful cellaring. In either case a decant is recommended before service. Winery notes.

Bright purple-crimson; a more classic Balnaves style, although very intense and long; cassis and blackcurrant fruit has an intriguing web of spice, briar and leather underlying the primary fruit; it has literally devoured the French oak in which it spent 16 months, and has excellent tannins. ProCork. 14.5% alc. Rating 95 Points; Drink 2033 $35 Date Tasted Mar 10; James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2011

Rich smelling wine, but has a certain freshness and vigour, which from what I’ve tasted to date, seems be a trait of the 2008 Coonawarra vintage. Fruit profile would best be described as being like blackberries and dark cherries and there’s dark chocolate, toasty spiced vanilla oak with a little mint and sweet leather. Full bodied, but fresh and lively (perhaps too much so at this stage as the acidity looks a bit too enthusiastic and nippy), with positive structural fine grained tannins and plenty of length - no holes along the way. Needs time for the acidity to settle (and I wish there was less of it) but, minor quibbles aside, an impressive wine nonetheless.  Drink : 2014 - 2020+ 93 POINTS Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

Pete Bissell is able to draw out the finest expression of Coonawarra cabernet, with depth, width and great length to its panoply of black fruit aromas and flavours; new French oak and persistent, fine-grained tannins provide a perfect framework for a wine destined to live for decades. Sublime power and grace. From Coonawarra, SA; Drink to 2025 with Moroccan lamb; 97 points, $90, ProCork, 15% alc; Halliday’s Top 100 Wines for 2009 – The Weekend Australian November 14-15, 2009

Power and grace; loaded with sweet oak, the quality of fruit beneath is up to the task; layered cassis, redcurrant, cedar and violet bouquet; great concentration of fruit on the palate, with a refreshingly vibrant core of acid and pure fruit; lots of slippery fine-grained tannins that counterpoint the vibrant and complex fruit with ease; wonderfully long and satisfying. ProCork. 15% alc. Drink 2025 $95 Date Tasted Feb 09; 97 Points. James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2010 Edition.

Peter Bissell is one of Coonawarra's best modern winemakers, and The Tally numbers among the region's best wines. The 2007 vintage is still envolved but it's all there. Floral, mint, blackcurrant and mocha meet the nose, and the palate has essency concentration, great flow and a grippy finish. 14.5 per cent alc. Cellaring? yes, two to 12 years. Food idea: roasted winter vegetables. Five Stars - Ralph Kyte-Powell, Wine Style, The Age, July 22, 2009.

Similar crimson-purple to the standard; has a fragrant bouquet, with blackcurrant, cassis and mulberry fruit; the medium-bodied palate is elegant, and infinitely better balanced than the standard wine, the tannins fine, the cedary oak in balance, the finish long and harmonious. 96 Points; Drink By: 2029; Price: $95.00; Date Tasted:30 Jan 2011; James Halliday

The challenging 2009 vintage disqualified all but one parcel of fruit for The Tally: that which forms the linear vector of its honed backbone. The result is the most focused, precise and restrained Tally, that time may prove to rank among the finest and longest-lived. Drinking: 2029 - 2039; Rating: 96 Points; Tyson Stelzer, Wine Taste

From the Coonawarra's famed Terra Rossa soil Bowen estate is the product of Doug and Joy's vision to make extremely high quality hand crafted wine so much so that they're a very particular about there pruning regieme. For 35 years now this family winery has been making small parcels of wine which are quintessentially Coonawarra.

Very intense deep colour reminiscent of blackberries. On the nose this strong wine shows great Cabernet Sauvignon flavours of blackberries and mulberries with abundant new French oak flavours and toasty cigar oak nuances. The palate is weighty showing great soft tannins across the whole palate. The clean Cabernet Sauvignon fruit flavours leave a mark of distinction on the palate, a distinctly varietal classic coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.

It’s interesting that Bowen Estate gives a cellaring life of 5 – 7 years for this 2009 cabernet sauvignon. Most wineries go the other way and over-estimate the cellaring potential of their wines. I suspect that it’s more of an insight into the humble persona of Bowen Estate than it is of the true cellaring potential of the wine itself.

There’s good depth of fruit here. And quite a deal of grunty tannin. I’d be willing to bet that this release will age over a decade or more – cork permitting. It tastes of blackcurrant and eucalypt, cedary/toasty oak and sweet spices. It’s grainy and muscular and (for a Coonawarra cabernet) big, but it’s also structured and punchy through the finish. It is too young to drink now. But in four or five year’s time it should be quite lovely. Rated : 93+ Points Alcohol : 14.5% Price : $26 Closure : Cork Drink : 2014 - 2021 Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

The 2007 Reserve Cabernet is a powerful yet elegant wine, showing notes of blackberry, bramble and earth, complemented by subtle undertones of chocolate and savoury nuances. The wine is supported by a fine defining tannin structure and shows spice and complexity from the careful use of new French oak.

Individual Cabernet Sauvignon parcels were fermented in open vats then matured in new French oak barrels for 24 months. Only the best barrels were then selected to make up the Reserve Cabernet blend. Two years additional bottle maturation allows further flavour development and tannin integration before the wines' release.

The majority of the cabernet sauvignon and merlot for this blend was harvested from the Estate vineyard. Smaller amounts of fruit came from a number of long term growers, mostly located in the Wallcliffe and Karridale sub-regions within the Margaret River appellation. The majority of these vineyard soils are derived from decomposed granite and consist of a gravelly loam over a deep clay subsoil. All vines are vertically shoot positioned and managed to ensure balanced growth during the season. The harvest for red varietals was ideal with finished wines defined by excellent tannin structure and length. The 2009 vintage is sure to be amongst the greatest vintages for red wines in Margaret River. At the desired balance of fruit and tannin extraction, each batch was gently basket pressed, the individual parcels were racked to oak following pressing for malolactic fermentation. The wines were matured in selected Bordeaux coopered barriques of which 25% were new. The final blend was completed in November 2009 and bottled in February 2010.
 
It beggars belief that this can be had for under $30 never mind $22 (even though a Google search saw a few silly $36.99 RRPs!) it must surely be the best value premium Cabernet going. And premium it screams. It is unmistakably Cabernet on the nose with ripe berries, cigar box, blackcurrant, chocolate and subtle oak nuances. In the mouth it has lashings of cassis and mulberry fruit and shows both a darker spectrum as well as hints of fruit sweetness. The structure is something to behold with persistent and savoury tannins carrying it through on a long finish. The whole package packs a punch but retains its elegance courtesy of a medium to full bodied profile. If I was told this was a flagship Cabernet from one of Margaret River’s establishment, I would not batter an eyelid, and nor should I given the majority of fruit for this is sourced from the same Estate fruit that goes into the $80+ flagship. Yep, it’s that good and for me a rare occasion where I rate it above the experts already high rating. Exceptional. Bargain. Drink: Now-2020+; Quality: Exceptional BW; WineStar© September 2011
 
Rating: 96 points, $32, Screwcap, 14.0% alc; James Halliday; The Weekend Australian, November 19th, 2011

Phew! This is in sensational form in 2009, showing a class and power that stands out from the pack. The nose delivers dark, ripe cherry, cassis and juniper aromas, leafy sweet herbs, cedary oak, mocha, juniper and dark, stony minerals. The palate's superbly cut, tannins are strong yet immaculately fine, with really layered dark-berry and chocolate flavours. Bright to the very end, it over-delivers in a very big way!Drinking: 2015 Rating: 95 Points; The Good Wine Guide

Rob Mann visited for lunch this week, then drove to Sydney under an ash cloud! His work in the vineyard and winery has elevated Cape Mentelle to the top echelon of Margaret River and, my goodness, does it show in his definitively structured 08 and 09 reds! 94 Points; Tyson Stelzer; Wine Taste Weekly
 
It’s freezing in my office today and if there’s one thing that doesn’t like it too cold it’s a cabernet-based wine – but I’ve done my best to warm this up and have looked at it over several hours. It didn’t budge much through the day and at all times I’ve liked it. It’s a cedary, tobaccoey cabernet with notes of earth and gravel and pencil. It’s ripe and curranty but not overly so, finely structured, elegant and yet powerful. I kept trying to pick a hole in it but I couldn’t. In the end I screwed the top back on and packed the bottle for dinner. A genuine compliment. The wine is a winner. 94 Points; Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front
 
You will fall in love with this classic blend. Largely cabernet and merlot but a small amount of cabernet franc and petit verdot completes the wine. Elegant, with a wonderfully expressive palate. Long and angular but with excellent flesh filling it out. Dense and vibrant and so alive on the palate. 94 Points; Ray Jordan

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot with the remaining proportion made up with nearly equal proportions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2009 Cabernet Merlot (Trinders) was fermented in French oak, 25% new, and aged in oak for 18 months. It casts a deep garnet-purple color and notes of black currant cordial, blackberry preserves and menthol over allspice, Chinese five spice and a whiff of loam. Medium bodied, its expressive fruit fills the mouth, supported by refreshing acid and a medium level of grainy tannins, finishing long and plumy. Drinking now, it should keep to 2016+. eRobertParker.com # 196

Regular vineyard visits and tasting of the grapes is imperative to ensure that the grapes are not allowed to achieve over ripeness as this would diminish the varietal characters and result in undersirable non-descript "jammy" character. The close proximity of McLaren Vale to the Gulf of St Vincent and the resultant cooling afternoon sea breezes facilitate the development of optimum levels of flavour, colour and tannin.

As with Chardonnay produced in 2006, the very cool conditions that prevailed throughout the summer of that year likewise resulted in very low yields of the Bordeaux grape varieties at Cullen Wines. Those conditions have led, however, to the production of a very refined and elegant Diana Madeline and a wine that at 13% alcohol demonstrates unequivocally that fruit intensity and depth do not require a high alcohol content!

This wine is very reminiscent of the Cabernet Merlot made in 1982, a year that was likewise very cool and resulted in harvesting occurring appreciably later than usual and at relatively low Baumés. Some idea of the potential of the 2006 Diana Madeline can be gauged by the fact that the 1982 Cabernet Merlot is still drinking very well and showing no signs of being on its last legs.

The 2006 Diana Madeline was made from a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. The wine was matured for 15 months in French barriques, of which 40% were new.

Deep ruby red / garnet with a crimson meniscus. A combination of fresh and complex chocolate and black berry Cabernet fruit aromas. Elegant, rich and flavoursome. Classic fresh, “crunchy” black berry Cabernet fruit are backed by firm but unobtrusive tannins. Great length and leaves lovely lingering flavours. Delicious! Cellaring: At least 20 years.

This wine was made entirely from grapes produced on the Cullen family vineyards and is the second label to the Diane Madeline in the Cullen Wines range.

Although this Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot has been dubbed Diana Madeline’s little sister, the contributions of the various varieties differ and thus provide this wine with its own distinctive character. This wine was made from a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc and benefited from 12 months maturation in good quality French oak.

Excellent medium red. Strong and rich black berry characters, with a touch of pepper and violets. Great depth of flavour, with the delicious Merlot filling out the middle palate and thus complimenting the clean and classical Cabernet component of the wine. The wine is tied together perfectly by the soft tannins and given structure by the good oak. Cellaring: Up to 10 years

Interesting to see the low alcohol levels in these new Cullen releases. The winery puts it down to Bio-Dynamic practice seeing the grapes getting ripe at lower sugar levels. My wife, who’s the queen of green and very fussy (and just ask Mattinson quite how particular and demanding a wine writer’s partner can be), thought this wine was very attractive and opined (after a push) that Vanya Cullen was onto something with these lighter styles.

A beautiful dark ruby-black. Gun flint, chocolate and plum come to mind, but there are also dried herbs and some stemmy characters. The toasty oak adds to the character and lifts the dark stone fruits. A truly wonderful complex nose. This wine is overflowing with ripe yet fresh fruit characters. Rich, strong and tannic are some of the words to describe the flavour profile. The wine at this early stage is very tight displaying the fine grainy tannins and lush rich fruits which is hallmark Dalwhinnie Cabernet. The flavour is long, luscious and precise, displaying exceptional balance.

Winemaker’s comments: Our Cabernet Sauvignon in my mind is a highlight. What is so enjoyable is to sit down in front of a fire, open a big Western Victorian red with some famous Australian Cheddar cheese and contemplate just how good life is.

Vibrant crimson in colour. Lifted plum, blueberry, cinnamon and earthy aromas with hints of leather and cedar complimented by subtle oak influence. The palate features an abundance of varietal fruit flavours with length, weight, integrated fine tannins and a round lip-smacking finish. A tremendous food wine.

De Bortoli produces terrific wines but the Yarra Valley vineyard is one of the jewels in its crown, courtesy of great fruit resources and an exemplary winemaking team. This is a lovely cool-climate cabernet, medium bodied, supple and very drinkable with lifted plum and blackberry fruit notes on the nose that flow through to the palate, nicely integrated oak and smooth tannins. Drink with winter casseroles.Kerry Skinner, Illawarra Mercury, June 2009

It's undemanding but it's beautiful drinking. It doesn't have a great deal of intensity, but it is curranty and pure and its drinks like a charm. 90 points; Campbell Mattinson and Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2009/10

Vibrant crimson in colour. Lifted plum, blueberry, cinnamon and earthy aromas with hints of leather and cedar complimented by subtle oak influence. The palate features an abundance of varietal fruit flavours with length, weight, integrated fine tannins and a round lip-smacking finish. A tremendous food wine.

The 2007-2008 growing season saw our earliest budburst for some time. Timely rainfall received in early summer (December and January) gave the vineyard some relief from a dry winter and spring. Conditions for ripening of Cabernet Sauvignon were ideal with warm days and cool nights and fruit was picked in
optimal conditions.

Fruit is sourced from our original Estate vineyard combined with complimentary parcels from select growers. Harvest occurred when the desired flavours were achieved. A combination of techniques are employed to produce a final blend that exudes complexity and balance. These include cold soaking prior to fermentation as well as warmer fermentation temperatures (30-32°C). Maturation was undertaken for 12 months in new (20%), one year old (40%) and two year old (40%) French oak casks for 12 months. Minimal handling was employed to preserve fruit flavour and expression

Deep red with garnet edge. Fragrant, violets, lavender, leafy, perfumed, pure. Notes of red currants and earth, dense, pronounced, brooding and slightly savoury mid-palate, gentle drying finish. 2008 saw timely December and January rainfall followed by warm dry days and cool nights. Harvest dates were earlier than usual with picking completed by mid March.

Clear red-purple; a fragrant cedary edge to the black fruits of the bouquet is followed by a supple, almost juicy, medium-bodied palate with superfine, but persistent, tannins and a touch of cigar box all adding complexity to an elegant wine. 95 Points; James Halliday, Wine Companion 2012, August 2011

A polished and supremely elegant cabernet. The nose shows more dominant red-berry characters with just a little minty, cedary influence. The palate is silky smooth, with fine tannins and fine-grained oak building a platform for a long finish. Well made in every aspect. Best Reds; West Australian, July 2011

Not overdone or excessively heavy but sure-footed, balanced and satisfying to the final drop. Top notch wine. Characterised by its lovely pencilly oak, blackcurrant-like fruit flavour, and modest touches of sweet mint and hebrs. Light earth and cherry flavours too. Lots of ripe, assertive tannin and abundant flavour. A beauty. Drink 2012-2020; 96 Points; Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2010/2011.

Flavours of dark berries, tobacco leaf and subtle earthy notes carry through onto the palate with lingering dark chocolate aromas. A long and generous mouth feel is well supported by a very dense structure of chalky tannins. This Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon is certainly approachable now; though will age well over the next 8 - 10 years. The tannins will soften and integrate more with time and develop a longer, more filling wine. Forest Hill Wines.

A wine brimming with vibrancy of colour in the glass, attractive with lovely deep cherry red hues. The first thing that hits you is how much it smells of fresh pomegranate juice, then some cherry juice and a hint of eucalyptus gum leaf. The palate has lively fresh cranberry and raspberry flavours with persistent tannin grip to give the wine a dry savoury edge. A wine to serve with hearty winter meals like lamb, pasta and cheese influenced meals.

Bright purple-crimson; a fragrant bouquet and welcoming palate of cassis, blackcurrant and mulberry provides the pleasure of today, those slightly gravelly Margaret River tannins the insurance for tomorrow. Rating: 92 Points; Drink By: 2018; Price: $22.00; Date Tasted: 06 Feb 2011; Alcohol:13.5%; James Halliday

This classy cabernet blend from Wilyabrup in the Margaret River heartland has a nose that treads the magical cabernet line between ripe and savoury with real aplomb. Floral, briary and blackcurrant aromas lead fragrantly through a finely textured, intense mouthful of medium body, sustained flavour and elegant balance. 4.5 Stars, Ralph Kyte-Poweel for The Age Epicure, 2011

Winemaker Clive Otto sure has made a mark at Fraser Gallop Estate. The value/quality ratio here is high. It comes across as mulberried at first but it quickly firms and fills out into a curranty, pencilly, gravelly burst of smooth, dark red wine. It’s hard not to feel happy about drinking this one. It comes with a hit of drying tannin and decent length and if you like this kind of thing then I’d think that $22 makes it a pretty simple buying decision. Rating: 92 Points; Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

The nose has lovely perfume of liquorice, cassis and cedar. This wine has a lifted nose, followed by tobacco, green tea. The palate is already highly integrated and should become even fleshier and more complex over time. Good density, which is nicely balanced by firm and evident tannin and acidity. This should be very long lived. Rick Kinzbrunner
 

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