The balancing act of Chateau Montrose sees 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot and for the first time an inclusion from the recently purchased vineyard parcel of Phelan Segur. Chateau Montrose is considered a top producer from St-Estephe, known for potential in cellaring and considered unique for its style, which is set to 'vin de garde' wines. The estate property is set on gravel-based soils and sits in what is conisdered a microclimate, also conspiring in the unique perfumes, composition and forimdable structure of these wines. 2010 has been spectacular for Montrose power and presence, and will be a worthy wine to drink in a decade to 75 years.
Château Pontet-Canet is a classic large Pauillac property that adjoins the Mouton Rothschild vineyards that in the past has struggled to get fruit richness into their wines until Michel Rolland was called in. The wines of the past 15 years have produced lovely, voluptuous reds with ripe fruit and brilliant balance. The 2009 is quite simple a stunning incarnation of Pontet-Canet and quite possibly their best wine ever produced! A 'tour de force' of the highest standard, layers of concentrated fruit along with sublime oak integration see this biodynamically farmed vineyard reach Bordeaux perfection. Will age comfortably for the next 50 years.
From a 37-acre vineyard, Château Pavie Macquin is stunningly situated on the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion on the right bank of Bordeaux. 2010 has produced a formidable wine: a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a top release of the harvest year and a highlight from St-Émillion in 2010. Tannins, restraint and inward concentration are motifs, this is a wine for the patient, sophisticated collector who wishes to embellish a cellar with pedigree wines that need time and maturity to come to the fore.
Penfolds Bin 389 is the classic South Australian red! Often referred to as 'Baby Grange' or 'Poor Man's Grange', Bin 389 was the wine that helped to build Penfolds' solid reputation with wine drinkers around the world. A magnificent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from the very best regions and vineyards available to Peter Gago and his team, the robust nature of the Cabernet grape give structure and body to the wine while the opulent Shiraz fruit provides suppleness and intensity. A true icon of Australian wine first created by the legend himself, Max Schubert, Peter Gago is quoted as saying 'Through thick and thin, across all vintages, Bin 389 always delivers - benefitting from over half a century of practice!
First made in 1959, Penfolds Kalimna Shiraz is an icon in the field of warm-climate Shiraz. Always ripe, robust and generously flavoured. The Bin 28 is named after the Kalimna vineyard that was purchased back in 1945 and from which the original fruit was sourced from. Today, the Bin 28 is a great example of the Penfolds dedication to multi-region, multi-vineyard blending. The Barossa Valley will always remain an integral part of the Bin 28 blend providing rich, vibrant primary fruit flavours.
Australia's premier cool climate Cabernet. It was John Middleton's dream to create such a wine and purchased the Mount Mary property in the Yarra Valley in 1971 to persue this dream. Quintet is his dream realised and is a blend of the classic Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
Graveyard Vineyard is the jewel in the Brokenwood crown, responsible for the company's flagship wines. The vineyard was planted with Shiraz vines in 1970 - extremely heavy clay soils, yields are low, but fruit flavour is intense through employment of meticulous vinification techniques. Strong lifted aromas of sweet earth and dark cherry greet the olfactory senses. Oak features, but will soften and integrate given some patience. Initial flavours of dark chocolate and ripe plums are beautifully lashed to ripe tannins lending an edge of cedar.
With plenty of blackberry, plum, mulberry and menthol-like fruit and fine, rusty, almost unyielding tannins, this is a strong, firm wine by Wendouree with plenty of lasting power. The Shiraz component derives from vineyard plots that include bush vine material. Parcels of very old vine Malbec bring further distinctiveness. The wine is vinified in open fermenters and matured for 12 months in new and used French oak.