2021 Yering Station Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Yarra Valley

Imagine a wicker basket full to the brim of blackberries, mulberries and Illawarra plums. A stalk of rosemary, thyme and a few gumnuts clinging to the stem. It’s dusk and the smell of paperbark with a crackling fire are near. The 2021 Reserve Cabernet is an illustration of the great Australian landscape, so invoking it is almost unnerving. The fruit is densely concentrated and backed by silty tannins that evenly grip the palate. There is a pantry of baking spices, cumin, nutmeg and cassia bark and a wonderful dry tanned leather and cedar flavour to the well used French oak. This is Yarra Valley Cabernet with the intensity dialled up and built to last a lifetime. Utterly stunning. Drink with juicy lamb chops, roast potatoes and greens.

98 points Shanteh Wale winepilot.com

98/2% cabernet sauvignon/merlot matured in 225L French barriques (17% new) for 15 months. A bright, medium crimson red. An impressive bouquet with dark cherry, blackcurrant, pencil box and violet scents. Impeccably balanced, this medium- to full-bodied and elegant wine has a good depth of fruit and excellent structure. The tannins are fine, gently chewy and persistent, and this will continue to evolve and become more complex over the next decade or so.

96 points Philip Rich winecompanion.com.au