Cabernet Blend

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A poised and beautifully assembled blend of 85% cabernet sauvignon, 10% malbec, and 5% petit verdot. Stylish and elegant, yet driven by the intensity of cabernet that defines Margaret River. Bold black fruits are harmoniously integrated with fine oak and supported by firm but chalky tannins. Impeccably crafted and classically structured, this is a wine built for the long haul.

Great Southern

Cabernet Blend

This is a blend of cabernet sauvignon and the highly aromatic cabernet franc. On the nose, you get deep, plummy blackberry aromas with a slight hint of chalk dust. The palate is quite soft and supple, with a deep, plummy blackcurrant flavour. This is a wine of substance and poise, and ultimately, the smooth, seamlessly integrated palate is a feature...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Juicy, plush, structured, and thoroughly delicious. What more could you want in a wine that sells for $20 and, quite frankly, should be selling for a whole lot more? Plenty of plump blackberry and plummy fruits on the nose, and then a palate that has a silky texture with ripe fruit, displaying great vibrancy and energy. This is a must-drink...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Brings together the power and structure of cabernet from these old vines, with the lifted perfumes of merlot on the nose and a slightly plush, plump middle-palate richness. It has a fine, seamless structure with a chalky, minerally thread of tannins, and a nice combination of oak. Perfectly balanced and poised. Most attractive drinking.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Deep Woods acquired this vineyard a few years ago, and it's smack bang in the middle of Wilyabrup in a block that was planted almost at the very start of Margaret River. Loads of dark fruits on the nose—plummy, blackcurrant, and dark chocolate—with a subtle graphite, oyster shell complexity. The palate has an almost effortless languid feel about it, and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is quite a fabulous wine, with the blend coming from the original Deep Woods Estate vineyard, which was planted many years ago. Intensely powerful bouquet of red fruits and that slightly liqueur cherry, bay leaf nuance. The palate is super intense and bursting with plush red fruits, supported by chalky, almost limestone-like tannins. This is a classically structured cabernet...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is a juicy and quite succulent medium-bodied wine that brings these two varieties together in harmony. Lots of juicy ripe fruit — plummy, blackcurrant — a slightly minerally bay leaf edge, and a neat integration of oak and fruit. It all comes together well, a wine that's probably best in the short to medium term.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A terrific value red from a very good season. Bright, lively fruit shows good concentration and medium body, with loads of plummy blueberry notes on the nose. The palate brings blackberry, subtle fruitcake, and a hint of black olive. Less time in oak, but still, 15% new, adds a spicy lift. Well-structured and seamlessly integrated.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A very good Margaret River season produced wines of excellent concentration and power. Here, the colour is fractionally lighter but still brilliant and bright. The nose shows a lovely mix of bright red fruits, a vanillin mocha note, and just a trace of blackberry. The palate bounces with high energy, delivering a motherlode of buoyant red fruits, spices, and a...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A wonderful example of this distinctly Australian blend, where shiraz from the Rhône works with the Bordeaux varieties. From a very good season, the colour is bright and the aromas move into the blue and red fruit zone with a lift of blackberry. The palate is seamless and supple, with fine, chalky tannins threading through a slightly liqueur-like cherry and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A very pretty wine, yet rich and concentrated. Medium-bodied, with ripe dark fruit showing a mix of plummy blackcurrant and lightly stewed rhubarb. The palate is structured with a fine thread of chalky tannins, and the oak is well managed. A slightly spicy lift on the finish completes a very tidy wine.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This sits at the pinnacle of the Aravina range and is clearly the finest example yet released. A classic blend of cabernet, merlot, malbec, cabernet franc and petit verdot, each variety contributing to a complete and seamless whole. Powerful leafy blackcurrant and dark chocolate are lifted by a buoyant red fruit nuance. The palate is exquisitely defined and refined, with...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This first-rate vintage has been expertly harnessed into a classy blend. It picks up the red fruits of malbec, which work seamlessly into the darker, more powerfully structured fruit of cabernet. Mulberry, plummy redcurrant and a fine chalky edge come together, while a subtle, slightly meaty blackcurrant note adds layered complexity. The palate is supple, juicy and generous, supported by...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

There’s an awful lot of wine crammed into this cabernet malbec that Conti sources from Margaret River. The colour is deep and dark with aromas of red berries, a leafy mint lift and light oak influence. The palate reveals a pool of dark plum, black olive and blackcurrant with a lift of bright rhubarb-like red fruit. Tannins are assertive but...

Frankland River

Cabernet Blend

A softer and more generous version of this wine, but still with that remarkable polished elegance that smacks of great fruit, an excellent season and skillful winemaking. Spicy floral notes on the nose with a little mineral ore character. The grainy palate provides texture to the excellent fruit. Elegant and stylish. Super stuff.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A cracking wine from this excellent vintage, blending 73% cabernet, 22% merlot and the remainder malbec. Deeply concentrated fruit has easily carried 19 months in oak, producing a wine of power, poise and balance. Dark fruits, lifted aromatics, and fine focus combine on a detailed palate that will reward extended cellaring.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

One of the best Clementine releases yet, from a very good vintage. A blend of cabernet, merlot and malbec, it bursts with intensity, with florals, bay leaf and a blackcurrant-olive combination on the nose. The palate shows plush, bright fruit wrapped around a firm thread of chalky tannins, finishing effortlessly long.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Pure, vibrant and highly expressive, this is predominantly cabernet with contributions from merlot, cabernet franc and malbec. Energetic, punchy fruit opens with plummy blackcurrant and a subtle leafy black olive nuance. The palate reveals red fruits and a cedary character, all well integrated and balanced.

Western Australia

Cabernet Blend

This is a pretty good wine for one selling for not much more than $15. It's loaded with plenty of sweet ripe fruit displaying a more blackberry, blackcurrant character and a slightly lifted bay leaf, olive tapenade influence. The palate is quite plush and seamlessly smooth with the eight months in French oak. Neatly integrated.

Frankland River

Cabernet Blend

An opulent and rounded blend of these two varieties with the touriga certainly brings a soft and supple generosity to the middle palate, while the cabernet provides the structure and the length. Made in clay cement ovoids, which allow the lees movement to build the generosity and supple intensity to the palate. Plenty of ripe dark fruits here. Lovin’ it.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Despite the warmth in this season, this wine has emerged as an excellent example of this blend, and there's nothing namby-pamby about it. This offers richness and texture and flavour with varietally typical blackcurrant and plummy notes with a nice lifted red fruit raspberriness that adds to the complexity. It's smooth with an almost satin-like finish, and the oak is...

Blackwood Valley

Cabernet Blend

This is a beautiful blend of 70% cabernet and 30% merlot. Positively sings from the nose of perfumed red fruits, a little cedarwood and a deeper blackcurrant character. Fine chalky tannins integrate perfectly to support the palate which is smooth and seamless with a delicious juicy vibrance. It’s bright and lively with a high energy that is evident immediately. Excellent...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Two varieties certainly benefited from the warm season – expressive, vibrant, bright fruit concentration and life. Aromatic notes of perfume, violet, blackcurrant and a little leaf. The palate has a firm core, but it's delightfully supple and fruity while retaining the poise you expect with this combination. Only 20% new oak was used, but the wine stands tall and in...

Great Southern

Cabernet Blend

You can't possibly go past this one for a value-for-money cabernet blend in a great year. Comes from the Great Southern... and it is all that you want in this combination. Dark ripe red fruits, blackcurrant, a little plum, blackberry, and a lift of red fruits to add some vibrancy. The palate is generous, chocolatey, with red fruit and some...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

The cooler 2021 vintage has contributed to a wine poised with silky refinement, reflecting both the season and the vineyard. It’s about 86% cabernet, with merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc making up the balance. Over the years, I’ve tasted several of these, and this is one of the most stylish and elegant reserve wines from Pierro. The nose is...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A blend predominantly of cabernet, with smaller contributions from merlot, cabernet blanc, malbec and petit verdot—a Bordeaux blend. The cooler season has delivered a wine of elegance and charm. It bursts with vibrant red fruits and a slightly leafy red currant note. The palate is seamlessly knitted with fine, silky tannins and lightly applied oak, all wrapped around the fruit...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is another excellent value-for-money quality drink. It's sourced from Margaret River, and captures the best of these two varieties, with the strength and blackcurrant nuances of the cabernet and the plush fleshiness of the merlot sitting snugly together to produce a generous, medium-bodied and highly flavoursome red wine ideal for drinking in the medium term.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is consistently one of the best sub-$20 wines on the market. It harnesses these logical bedfellows with the firmness of the cabernet and the fleshy richness of merlot coming together perfectly. Loads of ripe fruit displaying a little blackcurrant and fleshier plumminess with just a little spicy dried herb and even a touch of coffee grind. Balanced, seamless and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Now a 10-year-old cabernet, and it’s just starting to enter that next phase of development, with subtle leathery spiciness emerging. The primary black fruits are now ceding to secondary characters of chocolate, mocha and bay leaf, with a gentle tobacco complexity. This was always an elegant and stylish vintage, and this wine captures that perfectly. Still has time ahead in...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A wine that strongly reflects a powerhouse vintage, with firm tannins a feature. The black fruits on the nose burst out of the glass, alongside subtle raspberry and brick-dust characters. The palate is tightly held by those tannins, but there is ample fruit to balance, and the oak treatment marries perfectly to complete the integration. There’s something classically Bordeaux about...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This vintage generally produced wines of less intensity and weight but with an elegance that makes them excellent medium-term cellaring propositions. The fruit characters are more blackberry and cherry, with oak notes of light cedar and bay leaf. The palate is medium to full-bodied with good structure and control, dry, savoury, and with a slightly oyster shell-like minerality to complete...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This was such a great season in Margaret River, producing wines of immense power and depth, yet with elegance and refinement in perfect balance. This is a beauty. It has a slightly lower cabernet component, probably a result of the vintage's power and structure, complemented by a little more merlot and malbec. Highly scented with notes of blackcurrant and violet,...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This wine was introduced to the portfolio a few years ago and is quite a departure from the usual Howard Park style. Primarily, it is the use of a significant portion of American oak to produce a distinctive style. Little wonder that this vintage is probably the best, as it strikes a great balance between the exquisite fruit and the...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A wine that offers so much immediate pleasure. Opens with a strong and distinctive mix of blackcurrant and ripe satsuma plum with a richer dark chocolate backdrop. It’s a rich and supple wine with depth and fruit concentration. Nice tannin and oak structural input. Score: 92/100 Cellar: 7 years

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A stylish and quite elegant example of this great Aussie blend from a vineyard in Wilyabrup. The great vintage has contributed to creating a wine with power that sits more in the medium-bodied zone. Red fruits with a little black olive and blackcurrant. The palate shows excellent oak integration and the tannins sit comfortably adding their structural support. An excellent...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

As the name suggests this is a Bordeaux blend of the main fie varieties of that region. There is power here. It’s evident on the nose which displays an intensity of dark fruits, lifted by an ethereal violet and red berry nuance before slight meaty characters emerge. The palate is firmly structured with a firmish tread of tannin and fine-grained...

Frankland River

Cabernet Blend

Castelli Il Liris cabernet sauvignon shiraz 2021 ($120) This blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz from Frankland River illustrates the incredible range of wines that can be produced in this region. Bursts out with a combination of underlying black fruits with a lift of exotic blue fruits. It has structure and tannin, but the fruit opulence wraps around the tight...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is largely cabernet with malbec and smaller contributions from merlot and petit verdot. The combination of fruit from Wallcliffe and Wilyabrup has been gently treated with hand plunging and basket pressing. It’s a generous medium to full-bodied wine with plush fruit contributions complemented by fine-grained oak and well-managed chalky tannins. The minerally mouth feel is a feature. Excellent.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is an excellent wine. It is a blend of largely cabernet with smaller contributions from malbec and petit verdot. It is seamless with the generosity of the fruit cascading over the fine thread of oak and tannin. Plush black fruits with some nice darker plum and black olive influences. Has a bright and very lively palate that bursts through...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is a blend if cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, malbec and merlot. In a good year like this one, it offers some of the best value classy red wine going around. This is as good as any in this line. Plush red fruit of tremendous intensity. A firm core of tannin and oak holds it firm as the succulent fruit...