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Session
6: Cabernet Sauvignon and blends
Landmark Australia
Tutorial
Rob Mann, winemaker at Cape Mentelle, tutored this
session. Rob has quite a winemaking pedigree. His grandfather, Jack
Mann, was one of the famous winemakers of Western Australia, working
at Haughtons from 1930–1970, and his great grandfather was the
wine/brandy maker at Château Tanunda.
Cabernet is not widely regarded as one of Australia’s
star varieties, living rather in the shadow of Shiraz, but it has
more than 150 years of history here. Initially, it was planted in
regions closest to state capitals. People looked for good soils for
Cabernet close to markets, but it didn’t do all that well.
Cabernet performs best in two regions. It first really
started to shine in Coonawarra (first established as a wine region
in 1891, but which entered a rapid phase of growth in the early
1960s) and then really began to show its stuff when Margaret River
in Western Australia was developed in the late 1960s and early
1970s. This was one of the first regions selected to grow grapes
with climatic attributes suitable for growing Cabernet, as it was
chosen because of its climatic similarities to the Bordeaux region.
‘I’ve learned that Cabernet is a variety that hates
stress,’ says Rob. ‘The Sauvignon family can’t handle heat and
water stress.’ If Cabernet experiences heat or water stress then
the vines shut down, and the result is tough skins and tough
tannins. This is, apparently, the reason why Aussie Cabernet tends
to lack a mid-palate.
Blending in Shiraz, especially in South Australia, has
been a solution to this mid-palate hole. Also, cross-regional
blending has been tried with some success. An example is big heavy
Cabernet from McLaren Vale without any elegance or mid-palate being
blended with elegant, restrained Coonawarra Cabernet. There are very
few Cabernet/Shiraz blends outside South Australia, but in Western
Australia Merlot has been widely used to blend with Cabernet.
Rob firmly believes in Coonawarra and Margaret River as
the two top regions for this variety in Australia: ‘You won’t
get better.’ He thinks that of these two, Margaret River is the
most consistent. McLaren Vale is starting to make more of a name for
itself, and Great Southern can be great but shows inconsistency
because of rain. ‘We haven’t made our best Cabernet yet,’ he
says, saying that there are new possibilities of matching clones to
different soil types, and using rootstocks to manage tannins, for
example.
THE
WINES
2005 Mount Mary Quintet Cabernets, Yarra Valley
Fine, fresh, minerally aromatics: quite precise with subtle
gravelly notes, and more red fruit than black. The palate is medium
bodied with focused fresh berry fruits and nice minerally
complexity. An almost tight, Burgundian expression of Cabernet
that’s light, sappy and full of appeal. 93/100
2005 Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet
Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc, Great
Southern/Margaret River
79% Great Southern, 21% Margaret River. Smoothly focused dark
gravelly nose is refined with some subtle spicy oak notes. The
palate has bright blackcurrant fruit with some fresher cherry notes,
as well as spicy tannins. Sophisticated, tight wound and intense,
this has great potential. A restrained style by Aussie standards.
93/100
2005 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret
River
Single vineyard, 18 months in French oak, 60% new. Forward red
berry and blackcurrant fruit with a subtly green, spicy, gravelly
edge. Brooding and complex. The palate has lovely blackcurrant and
gravel character, with some appealing greenness, along with firm
tannins. Full flavoured. Perhaps a little firm on the finish. 92/100
2005 Woodlands ‘Colin’ Cabernet Sauvignon,
Margaret River
32 year old estate vineyard, aged for 22 months in new French
oak. Full creamy blackcurrant fruit nose with nice definition. Very
stylish with mineral complexity. Rich, smooth blackcurranty palate
with nice focus and concentration. Very youthful still with
appealing fruit character and a gravelly, mineral finish. 93/100
2005 Sandalford Prendiville Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon, Margaret River
100% new oak for 18 months, 15% alcohol. Minty edge to the
aromatic nose, which shows bright blackcurrant and red berry fruit.
Hint of ginger. The palate is bright and smooth with sweet
blackcurrant fruit. A fresh style with some elegance. 91/100
2005 Château Mouton Rothschild
Cabernet/Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot, Pauillac
Very chocolatey, coffee-ish, oaky nose. The oak dominates also
on the palate, with ripe dense berry and blackcurrant fruit and firm
tannins. Tannic and quite rich, this is hard to assess at the
moment. It’s not a very enjoyable drink but you have to hope there
is a great wine waiting to emerge from this oak-dominated,
tightwound monster. 22 months in new oak. 91/100
2005 Parker Coonawarra Estate Terra Rossa First
Growth, Cabernet/Merlot, Coonawarra
Pure, intense, sweet blackcurrant fruit on the nose. Brooding
and subtly gravelly. The palate is dense, powerful and intense with
super-concentrated dark fruit character and a fresh, spicy finish,
as well as mouth-drying structure. This is a big wine that needs
time to come together. 94/100
2005 Majella The Malleea Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz,
Coonawarra
Creamy, subtly minty, ripe and intense blackcurrant fruit on the
nose. The palate is intense and lush with concentrated sweet
blackcurrant and berry fruit, as well as soft tannins, finishing
with high acidity. 92/100
2005 Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet/Merlot, Eden
Valley
Very smooth, sweet, lush nose of pure blackcurrant fruit with
some creamy, chocolatey richness. Very sweet. The palate is soft,
concentrated and smooth with ripe fruit and soft tannins. Velvety
texture. A very user-friendly wine but concentrated and lovely.
93/100
2005 Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec, Clare
Valley
13% alcohol. Iodine/chlorine edge to the nose, with some ferrous
iron notes and subtle, taut red and black fruits. Rich, ripe yet
restrained fruits on the palate underpinned by firm tannins and good
acidity. Riper and fuller than many Wendourees, this is deliciously
poised. 93/100
2005 Hardys Chateau Reynella Basket Press Cabernet
Sauvignon, McLaren Vale
A bold, lush, ripe, chocolatey style with concentrated smooth,
creamy blackcurrant fruit as well as soft, jammy blackberry notes.
Rich and a little minty but shows lovely density. 91/100
2005 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon,
Barossa Valley
Minty, chocolatey nose with some sweet blackcurrant character and
roasted notes. Rich and focused with sweet fruit backed up by grippy
tannins and good acidity. Rich and full with firm structure, this
will age really well. Strong Penfolds house style here. 91/100
Landmark
Australia
 Introduction
Visiting
the Australian Wine Research Institute
Session
1 - Regional Classics
Session
2 - Riesling
Session
3 - Shiraz and Blends
Session
4 - Historical Perspective
Session
5 - Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Blends
Session
6 - Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends
Session
7 - An Alternative View
Session
8 - Chardonnay
Session
9 - Pinot Noir
Session
10 - Blending the rules
Session
11 - Sparkling
Session
12 - Fortified
Wines
tasted 06/09
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