2021 Dukes Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve Cabernet, Porongurup

The 2021 Magpie Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is from the same vineyard as the Single Vineyard Cabernet, but it is a step up in concentration of fruit and also oak. Here, there is dark chocolate and star anise to add to the core of delicate/pure black and purple fruit. This is a beautiful wine, slightly lower in alcohol than the Single Vineyard Cabernet, but more oomph and thrust of purpose. Really beautiful. Gently chewy. Drink 2023 to 2040.

94 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, July 2023

From a distinct plot in Duke's estate vineyard. This has good concentration, palate-staining resonance and a general sense of high drinkability. Scents of clove and pipe tobacco over cassis and lavender, the palate more fruit driven, plummy, but with brined black olive and more clove spice in play. Sits at medium weight, cruises along gently and feels almost refreshing in a way. Elegant and understated; very good are the words. Drink 2022 to 2036.

94 points Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion, June 2023

This plush and creamy red has aromas of coffee beans, lavender, nutmeg and ripe plums. It’s medium- to full-bodied with a juicy, supple palate and fine-grained tannins. Excellent focus and persistence, with lingering spice flavors in a long, delicious finish. Drink or hold.

94 points Claire Nesbitt for James Suckling, February 2025

Deep red-purple colour with a tobacco, humus, forest-floor bouquet which turns mellow and smoothly fleshy on the palate, with ample powdery tannins that provide some chew on the aftertaste. Cassis cabernet notes are elusive but there, buried deep. A savoury style of cabernet, ripe and good. Drink 2023 to 2034.

92 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, November 2022

Duke's Vineyard was planted in 1999 by founders Duke and Hilde Ranson on a ten-hectare site nestled against the ancient granite of the Porongurup Range in Western Australia's Great Southern — a landscape of towering rock formations and native forest that is as dramatic as it is remote. Experienced winemaker Ben Cane and his partner Sarah Date purchased the property in 2022 and have continued the estate's remarkable standard without missing a beat.

The Porongurups rise abruptly from the surrounding farmland in a series of vast granite outcrops. The visually arresting landscape is viticulturally distinctive, with granitic sandy clay loams draining freely while retaining moisture. The cool climate and diurnal temperature variations extend the growing season and build the mineral tension and precise structure that define wines from this site.

The 2021 was the last vintage personally harvested by Duke Ranson before his retirement — a fitting conclusion to his stewardship of this exceptional site. Hand-picked and cold-soaked before fermentation with daily pump-overs and post-ferment maceration for complete tannin development. The wine was aged for 14 months in predominantly seasoned French oak hogsheads for complexity and structure.

The result is elegant and understated. Cassis, black cherry and dark chocolate on the nose, with pipe tobacco, graphite, star anise and lavender adding brooding depth. The palate is medium-weighted and beautifully poised: plummy and pure, with fine chalky tannins, a gentle mineral core and a long, savoury finish.

Pour alongside a rack of lamb with herbs and garlic — the wine's fine tannin structure and savoury depth will find it a natural partner. Then finish the bottle of with a piece of nicely aged hard cheese.

Drink now through 2040.