Ranked #1 of 59 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra
98/100
5 Stars
Huon Hooke
Very deep, dark, brooding purple/red colour, with a remarkably complex, savoury bouquet of beautifully-integrated fruit and oak, very ripe cabernet aromas with zero leafy or green notes and lots of dark brooding black fruit and cassis characteristics intertwined with cedar, smoky-bacon and graphite nuances. The wine is almost decadently rich and fleshy, full-bodied and loaded with extract, the abundant tannins extremely supple and superbly knitted into the fabric of the wine. Riveting intensity. A glorious cabernet.
Tasted: 05/09/2021
Drink: 2023 to 2048
97 Points James Halliday
From 3 vineyards on terra rossa soil, average vine age 29yo. Optically sorted. The best of the best – a selection of less than 1% of all cabernet parcels. Open fermenters, on skins for average 24 days. Matured 15 months in French barriques and hogsheads (35% new, remainder 2–3yo), mlf in barrel. Tasting young John Riddoch simply throws a spotlight on its quality as the cornerstone, because this wine evolves into something special with age. It's a majestic wine. Full bodied and deep, with an abundance of tannins, but all in place, with a brightness to the acidity. There's nothing harsh here. Earthy flavours, cedary oak and excellent fruit make it a bit of a tease: it is rather easy to open a bottle to enjoy now, yet its best years are ahead of it. Drink to 2045.
Source: James Halliday.