2022 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Cabernet Sauvignon, Pyrenees

Harvested from the original contour and front gate vineyard on the Dalwhinnie estate. Open-top fermentation was followed by pressing directly to French oak barriques for 20 months' maturation. This is a beautifully complete wine, not overdone in any way. It has brightness and depth without overt fruitiness, with ripe, graphite-like tannins seamlessly integrated into the body of the wine. Elegant cassis notes shine alongside attractive flecks of crushed herbs. Beautifully proportioned, cleansing, savoury and structural, with impressive length and a long life ahead. Drink to 2033.

96 points & Special Value Toni Paterson for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2025

From the cooler, La Niña-influenced 2022 season, the estate grown fruit for this wine was handpicked mostly from the Cellar Door Block and fermented with endemic yeasts in small batch open fermenters for fourteen days. The parcels were pressed to French oak barriques as they approached dryness and matured in these for eighteen months. The final blend is a barrel selection of parcels deemed suitable for the Moonambel label.

About this producer

The foundations of Dalwhinnie were laid in 1973 when Ballarat-based architect Ewan Jones purchased a property in Moonambel, in the heart of what is now the Pyrenees wine region of Victoria.

The sheltered, amphitheatre like site sits at an elevation just shy of 600 metres. Its first vines were planted in 1976 and stand in fragile, infertile soils that receive most of their modest annual rain fall from late winter to late spring, the sloping grounds providing good drainage for both water and air, with frosts never a threat for this high elevation vineyard. The vines receive no irrigation water and are farmed to organic principles.

The key varieties in the 16-hectare vineyard are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, with smaller blocks of Viognier, Pinot Noir and Sangiovese used for blending and experimental purposes. The majority of the fruit used for the Dalwhinnie wines is estate grown, with some sourced from other growers in the region for the Mesa-labelled wines and the fruit used for the Tasmanian Three Valleys Pinot Noir-blend.

Dalwhinnie been part of Fogarty Hall Wine Group’s steadily growing portfolio of premium wine producers since 2020. Winemaking is guided by the group’s highly regarded chief winemaker Julian Langworthy and relies on Dalwhinnie’s viticulturist Sam Bartlett’s efforts in crafting these now legendary wines.