2019 Terra Rossa Cabernet Sauvignon, Parker Estate, Coonawarra

From their Abbey Vineyard supreme example of how caberet sauvignon positively thrives in this renowned strip of terra rossa earth on limestone. On the nose, dried herbs, sage, nutmeg and clove. Balanced, complex; intense and vibrant on the front-palate, leading with cola and clove. Mid-palate is full, balanced and savoury with fine silken tannins mocha notes. Superb length.

“Unapologetic and honest with dark ideas and intentions, this is a stunning Coonawarra Cabernet built for long, suave, smooth ageing with its beguiling cassis core infiltrated by espresso coffee notes and warm red and black spices. With a little more mid-palate depth than many, this is a firm style that commands respect, and at the price, there is a hilarious amount of confidence and swagger on display. I usually expect this attitude on the elite Cabernet in the Parker portfolio, First Growth, so it is exciting to see Terra Rossa picking up some familial traits. Talking of such, 2016 First Growth may or may not be making an appearance on our shores in 2023, so keep your eyes peeled because this must be one of the greatest wines ever made under this memorable moniker. Amazingly dense and backward but with unfathomable potential, this is a superbly layered and exceedingly grand wine with sky-high ambition on the nose and palate. It is yet another wine in this Report to gain a 19/20 score in my notes. Finally, the 2019 Kidman Block Shiraz is another Parker that ought to be coming over to the UK in the next few months, and it is made from 50-year-old vines that then see 20% new French hogsheads for 16 months. Unlike Barossa or McLaren Vale Shiraz, this is an elegant and polished wine with a refined silhouette, generous florals and stern acidity that keeps it formal instead of relaxed. It tastes like a Shiraz that has been squeezed into a Cabernet three-piece suit, and it rather likes its reflection.”
Matthew Jukes, www.matthewjukes.com