This gorgeous Walters Reserve Cabernet features a deep crimson red colour with dark hues. The attractive bouquet and the lush palate flaunt sharp nuances of blackberry, chocolate and bramble coupled with subtle earthy and savoury undertones. These vibrant elements, supported by a fine and elegant tannin structure, end the wine in a spicy and captivating finish. Drinking well with red meats, game dishes, or a delicious cheese plate.

This wine shows the style of the vintage and quite likely the impact of the small crop. In such years, Cabernet Sauvignon in particular, has a complex but somewhat subdued nose, where the wine hints of the underlying power and complexity but takes years to reveal its true colours. So here we see smouldering red currant, black currant and mulberry, with a floral, violet lift, sitting over cedar and tar. On the palate there is concentration and length - dark fruits combining with firm tannin and leather and tarry notes.

Subtle threads of violets, cherry blossom and fresh juniper berries serve as highlights to an ample tapestry of black plums, cacao nib and ironstone. Sheer textures of crushed granite and black cherry skin are laced with porcelain tannin and quenching natural acidity.

Mac Forbes philosophy towards pinot is to look after the detail, keep it simple and respect the fruit. The onus is on fruit quality and balance and not on winemaking solutions or corrections. For them winemaking is an extension of the vineyard where they aim to capture the fruit expression and carry this through to bottle. They pick when the fruit is ripe but still crunchy to taste. The Yarra Valley Pinot is a blend of Mac Forbes declassified barrels from their grower vineyards and the Mac Forbes single vineyard sites. The Bordeaux blend is still arguably the most successful of all grapes or blends from the Yarra Valley. At relatively low alcohols the wines are elegant, perfumed and ripe. While approachable as a young wine, Hugh will age gracefully for twenty plus years. In this wine Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety and is complimented by Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Giaconda vineyard was established by Rick Kinzbrunner, a mechanical engineer who became interested in wine in the early 1970's. Rick then spent the next ten years working in the industry, travelling and following his passion for wine. After a brief stint in New Zealand, he studied at Davis University in California and worked at some of the most respected wineries in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys (namely Stag's Leap, Simi and Matanzas Creek). In Europe he worked for the Moueix group in Bordeaux, co-owner of the fabled Chateau Petrus.

Langmeil Jackamans Cabernet Sauvignon has developed a deliciously intense perfume of blackcurrants and mulberry with rich dark chocolates after two years in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads. A powerful wine from mature vines.

Yalumba continue to produce amazing quality, premium wines for a fraction of the price they could demand. The Menzies is prime example with rich, blackcurrant and cassis fruit with integrated oak that fills the mouth.