Same winemaking as the Merlot blend, but this wine soaks up the oak perfectly. It’s dark and oak framed, but the core of dark berry minty impact is bold enough to take out. It’s brooding, chocolatey, tannic, and somehow more lively and fresher than the Merlot Cab. I closed my eyes and picked it up as a three-year-old, not five. Black fruit, dark berries, a little cedar, with these sticky, long tannins. If anything, this Cabernet Shiraz gives off Coonawarra vibes, and it feels regal, if a bit closed and grumpy for drinking right now. I will never understand why this wine is 2/3rds the price of the Merlot Cab, with the latter feeling like it’s trying too hard, compared to this Cabernet Shiraz blend, which just feels right (although especially uncompromising in this 2019 release).
Best drinking: wait at least five years, then drink over twenty plus.
18/20, 93/100+
