2019 Medhurst Reserve Cabernet, Yarra Valley

Only 30 dozen made of this supremely good Yarra Valley cabernet. Three-day pre-ferment cold soak then pressed to a new 300L hogshead after 20 days on skins. A deep, plummy crimson purple. Densely packed with dark fruits, spice-rack spices, and already beautifully integrated and well-handled cedary oak. Compact and precise on the palate with dark currants, boysenberry and blood plums. Gently textured, with layered, bright and crunchy tannins, this beauty will still be looking good, in 10, if not 20, years from now.

97 points Special Value Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion May 2022

Medhurst’s Reserve Cabernet shows another side of this Gruyere estate, away from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for which the modern Yarra is so often celebrated. Ross and Robyn Wilson established Medhurst in the late 1990s, but Cabernet has much deeper roots in the region. Some of Australia’s most graceful examples have come from the Yarra, where the variety can combine cassis and structure with the leafy, savoury character that warmer regions often lose.

The 2019 season was warm and dry, giving Cabernet excellent concentration and small, intensely flavoured berries. Medhurst’s elevated vineyard and cooler nights helped retain freshness, and several years in bottle have now begun to soften the wine’s youthful structure. This is moving into a particularly good drinking window, where dark fruit remains strong but cedar, tobacco and earthy complexity are starting to join the conversation.

Deep garnet crimson, the bouquet opens with blackcurrant, blackberry and dark plum before violet, bay leaf and dried mint emerge. Cedar, graphite, tobacco leaf, black olive and dark chocolate add complexity with air. The palate is medium to full bodied, with cassis and black cherry wrapped in fine, increasingly supple tannins. Savoury herbs, cocoa and graphite build through the middle before a long, dry finish of cedar, dark fruit and earthy spice.

Chargrilled lamb cutlets with rosemary and anchovy butter would be superb, alongside Korean galbi, slow braised beef cheek, smoky eggplant with tahini or porcini and Taleggio pie. Our pick is the lamb. The salty anchovy butter and smoky char should be glorious against the Cabernet’s cassis, cedar and savoury herbal character.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2036.