- Pyrenees, VIC - $25-$27
- Screwcap
- 13.5%alc
Mount Avoca picked the fruit for their 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon across 2 phases in late March. A small amount was picked earlier to capture cabernet's structure and greener aspects, with the balancing richness and ripeness provided by later picked fruit. Add to that 15 months in new and used French and Hungarian oak as well as a splash of cabernet franc (10%), and it certainly sounds like a cabernet constructed with ample character in mind!
Well ripened yet genuinely controlled for its hot season, Mount Avoca's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon backs its plush blackcurrant and raspberry scents with chocolatey tones, hints of gumleaf and calm vanilla oak, yet nothing terribly sharp, pointy or piercing, as its aroma floats gently like a cabernet-soaked cloud. Its charmingly bright fruit takes centre stage on the nose, but on the palate, there's a variety of features playing in harmony, namely richness, suppleness, structure and length. It's simultaneously creamy and supple, willowy even, but the wine's impact through the back palate, defined by by a wonderfully even, flared-out coverage of ultra-fine, dusty, gripping tannins, punctuates the package in a truly explosive manner. It finishes in classically regional style; chiselled, imposingly dry and marked by lingering notes of juicy dark fruits and dry eucalyptus leaf.
ü+ From Mount Avoca's fantastic trio of 2009 estate reds, this is the pick for me. You couldn't ask for more from a $25 Pyrenees cabernet - really. Throw some in the cellar or drink some now, John Harris, take a bow. Drink to 2024.
94 points
No comments:
Post a Comment