It is no secret that I love Bordeaux varietal based wines. The quality/value ratio is right up there, with very worthwhile wines available at a variety of price points. And the highlights from this tasting served to reinforce that view.
The delicious and juicy Accidental Red from Dhillon kicked things off, whilst the Bream Creek Cabernet Merlot redefined my expectations of both cabernet and the value that Tasmanian wines can offer.
At the other end of the spectrum, Vasse Felix’s Tom Cullity is the latest superstar in this range. A spectacular wine.
Reviewed
Vasse Felix – Tom Cullity – Cabernet/Malbec – 2023. This takes all the highlights from the other wines in the tasting and distils them into a single, cohesive package. But this wine comes with a caveat. It is young: very young. The palate is seamless and the fruit and winemaking superb, but it is just so, so closed. It is only with a little air that this really starts to reveal just how good it is. The depth, power and intensity are next level, with the oak (58% new French barriques) providing the backdrop on which the fruit has been painted. It is a thirty-year prospect, so give it a big decant if you are going to get the most from it today. You won’t be sorry. The power of this wine was amplified with time in the glass, with the acidity serving as a counterfoil ensuring balance. Wonderful. 14.5% alc – 97pts – $200.
Bream Creek – Cabernet/Merlot – 2025. What a lovely wine. The vibrant fruit is the focus, but this has been brilliantly paired to the oak and acidity. There is a generosity to this wine that comes from the perfectly ripe fruit that makes it so much more accessible today. I would go as far as to say that this is totally delicious. With mid-term ageing, I am confident that this will develop more depth and complexity, but for me, I would be very happy drinking it young (which is a rare thing indeed). Gets an extra point for its drinkability. 14.0% alc – 95pts – $45.
Dhillon – Accidental Blend – Merlot/Shiraz – 2025. Oh wow. This is just so much fun. The vibrant fruit is perfectly preserved, with just the right amount of structure to make this a wonderful drink. I would go as far as to say this is one of the prettiest, most perfumed young reds that I have had in a long time. On the very close, the structure adds depth and texture, but does not impede the fruit. I really don’t know how to point this, but I love it. 13.5% alc – 93pts – $25.
Credaro – Kinship – Cabernet Sauvignon – 2025. This is a lovely, middle-of-the-road cabernet. The fruit is ripe but focussed, and there is enough structure to elevate this above the ordinary. Yet it remains easy drinking, approachable and user-friendly. But with air, the quality starts to shine through, with the structural components really building and the fruit getting altogether more serious. A sleeper. 14.0% alc – 93pts++.