- Canberra District - $25
- Screwcap
- 14.3%alc
As Canberra continues to gain recognition as a fine wine region, it's becoming more apparent the district is ably suited to a number of varieties. Shiraz, riesling, viognier, and more recently cabernet, have all caught my attention from the nation's capital.
Showing similar minty/leafy tones to Shaw Vineyard's 2008 Cabernet Merlot, this sweetly scented young cabernet sauvignon reveals an aroma of blackberry, dark plum, violets and raw, toasty chocolate oak residing beneath its heady green aspects. Syrupy in texture, its leaner palate announces faintly hollow but brightly lit, ripe and slightly sweet varietal fruit flavours in the stewy cassis/mulberry/raspberry spectrum, before it extends with developing capsicum/minty characters and a soft structure marked more by lithe acids than tannin.
O Much like Shaw Vineyard's 2008 Cabernet Merlot, this is a brightly flavoured, early drinking and very quaffable cabernet which rides the style's minty/green aspects well, however, I believe the cab/merlot possesses superior structure and character, although some will prefer the more straight forward nature of this wine. Drink to 2013.
88 points
Anyone interested in checking out a direct comparison of Shaw Vineyard's 2008 Cabernet Merlot and 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, from a man bold enough to sit the two side by side, should check out:-
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ozwinereview.com/2010/05/shaw-premium-cabernet-merlot-cabernet.html
Cheers,
Chris P