2022 Dandelion Vineyards Pride Cabernet Sauvignon, Fleurieu

There's a sturdiness to this wine. It tastes of blackcurrant and boysenberry with drifts of fragrant herbs – it feels pure and largely unadorned, in a positive way – but the sturdiness of its structure gives it that extra something. It has substance. Drink 2024 to 2030.

92 points Campbell Mattinson for Halliday Wine Companion (Special Value), August 2024

Smoked meats, cassis and rosemary notes lead into a dense yet buoyant core, anchored by a stream of fine bitter chocolate-like tannins. Details start to emerge with time in the glass, so be patient, and serve it in a big glass as it's a delightful cabernet to drink young. Drink 2025 to 2032.

91 points Gabrielle Poy for The Real Review, February 2025

Elena Brooks founded Dandelion Vineyards with a clear intent: to make wines that speak plainly of the places they come from. Born in Bulgaria and trained in oenology in Australia, she has worked vintages across Europe and South Australia before settling in McLaren Vale. Her winemaking philosophy is built around restraint — spending time in the vineyard, then stepping back in the winery.

The Pride of the Fleurieu is made from fruit grown on Stranger's Reach Vineyard — a dry-grown Cabernet site owned by Tony Brooks and Professor Barbara Santich, perched above the Finniss River wetlands on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula. At just 25 metres above sea level on deep alluvial soils, the site benefits from the cooling influences of the Great Southern Ocean and nearby Lake Alexandrina. Low rainfall and the discipline of dry growing push the vines to their limits and concentrate flavour at the expense of yield.

Hand-picked at end of April and fermented for 14 days in open-top fermenters before basket pressing to predominantly older French oak for 18 months of maturation. No fining, no filtering.

Blackcurrant, boysenberry and fragrant herbs on the nose — pure and unadorned, with the kind of clarity that comes from the vineyard itself. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a dense, buoyant core of dark fruit, fine bitter chocolate tannins and real structural substance.

A winter dinner kind of a wine that rewards extended exposure to air. The wine's dark fruit, herb edge and fine tannins sit comfortably alongside slow-roasted lamb with rosemary and white beans, a Korean galbi braise or aged hard cheese with quince paste and good bread.

Drink now through 2032.