2022 Parker Estate First Growth, Coonawarra

Abbey vineyard fruit. 16 months' maceration in 75% new barriques. A marriage of red, black and blue fruit this vintage with some rosella, tulip and pink peppercorn spice. Acidity is crunchy and assertive, with some milky coconut-shell creaminess and soft redcurrants appearing throughout. This is delicately entwined. Its freshness and the zippy crunch to the fruit mean it's drinking very well now; I would call this quite approachable but of course it still has a decade ahead of it. Some carob and coffee grinds to finish its long length. A fine and lithe wine this vintage. Drink to 2037.

96 points Shanteh Wale for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

One of Coonawarra’s iconic Cabernets, the fruit is sourced from the Estate’s Abbey Vineyard. Maturation was over a period of sixteen months in oak barriques, 75% of which new. 300 dozen were produced. Deep maroon/red, the nose exhibits blackberries, lashings of quality oak, mocha, chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon, as well as hints of cocoa powder. There is excellent focus, tension and direction here. Well balanced with a fine line of juicy acidity through to silky tannins, this is a superb Coonawarra Cabernet. Hints of blueberries begin to emerge right at the finish. This is a twenty-year proposition. Drink to 2046.

96 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, April 2026

Fragrant wafts of nutmeg and vanilla mix with rosemary and blackcurrant on the nose. A nucleus of black and red berries mixes with sweet spice and subtle herbal notes of green peppercorn, creating a complex array of flavours. It's composed, the tannins are sleek yet grippy on the finish, leaving a salted licorice flavour in its wake. Subtle tertiary notes of leather are starting to appear, adding appeal in its youth. It's approachable now, although it will age nicely. Drink to 2036.

95 points Gabrielle Poy for The Real Review, May 2026

About this wine

This Cabernet Sauvignon is made from a selection of parcels within the estate’s original Abbey vineyard. First released as a 1988 vintage in 1991, its inspiration comes from the structure and longevity of wine from Bordeaux’s foremost estates.

The fruit was fermented in a nine-tonne closed static fermenter for a total of 42 days: an eleven-day fermentation before these were topped and sealed for a further 31 days. The wine matured for sixteen months in French oak barrels from Taransaud and Seguin-Moreau cooperages of which 75% were new.

The 2022 vintage is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

About this producer

Parker Estate was established by John and Faye Parker’s 1985 planting of the Abbey Vineyard in Coonawarra with the Reynell Selection of Cabernet Sauvignon. Current owners, the Hesketh family through their Usual Suspects Collective, acquired the estate in 2013. The vineyards sit over a limestone base beneath rich Terra Rossa topsoil, a distinctive combination that has been the foundation of the region’s fame.