2018 Yalumba The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

Gold National Wine Show of Australia 2023 Class 28

Another beautiful release. Mint, mulberry and blackcurrant flavours drift with tobacco and forest herbs. It's a cooling cabernet but a ripe one, fluid and refreshing but firm and solid. This wine needs to be stashed in a cool, dark place for at least a handful of years to start showing its best.

95 point Campbell Mattinson winecompanion.com.au Jul 2023

Coonawarra Cabernet 101. This Yalumba Menzies never seems to miss a beat. Another excellent release that will age gracefully. Although being five years young, tuck it away just a little more. The oak is prominent early and it needs to mesh. In some respects, it seems a bit bitsy but a few days of tasting demonstrated its capability and that patience will reward. All the usual Cabernet suspects are here to play: tobacco, blackcurrants, twigs and bay leaf. Licks of coffee grounds and a slight mintiness slide in. The generosity of the dark berries and mulberries hook coats the mouth gracefully. Puffy, cocoa like tannins draw moisture from the mouth finishing with those drying and powdery feels. It's an excellent wine when given its chance to show its best form. Drink to ten years+

95 points Q Wine Reviews Jul 2023

Climate change induced warmer seasons are having a positive effect on colder wine regions, and this excellent cabernet is a prime example. Deep ruby colour with a hint of purple in the rim; the bouquet is cedary, briary as well as and toasty and vanillan from liberal oak, with blackberry and cassis in the background but little sign of the greener spectrum of cabernet aromas. Intense, full-bodied and driving along the palate. Firm and grippy, impressively powerful and persistent. A seriously structured cabernet that should age long and well. It’s quite firm now, so either cellaring or a hearty protein meal are recommended. (Cork).

95 points Huon Hooke theralreview.com Sep 2023

The Menzies is showing great power and complexity. Deep crimson with a plum hue. Aromas of fresh rosemary, mulberry, ozone, violets and exotic spices. Take a sip and you will feel the poise and tension for which great Cabernet is renowned. A wine of great complexity with flavours of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate and mulberries, wrapped in divine tannins and a lovely sweet, dark fruit finish. With decanting in its youth it is enjoyable as an elegant full-bodied red wine.