2023 Bremerton Coulthard Cabernet Sauvignon, Langhorne Creek

Champion Wine of The Show I Best Cabernet Sauvignon I Top Gold I 96 points I 2025 Langhorne Creek Wine Show

Cabernet Sauvignon is “the special one” in Langhorne Creek, its pure varietal characters celebrated widely. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better representative of it than this, judged the best Cabernet and finally overall Champion Wine at the 2025 Langhorne Creek regional wine show. It exudes the variety’s classic cassis aromas in abundance and offers much more than just a pure berry fruit crush, pencil case cedar notes and wafts of bouquet garni providing savoury offsets that rebound in the palate as well. Better still, Cabernet often can be smacked a bit by its varietal tannin character, but not here, as a subtle and fine dusting in the finish raises this stylish, and crazily priced, example to a wine of elite class.

95 points Tony Love for Wine Pilot, January 2026

Another of the Bremertons that is absolutely reliable. And year in and year out produces excellent value wines with a little extra polish. Captures the black currant varietal definition perfectly with the chalky tannins and subtle oak influence producing a smooth, seamlessly appealing palate. Drink to 2034.

93 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, January 2026

It’s bright, young and juicy, and full of regional charm. Dark fruit and spicy, even if a slightly overripe character lurks within – with food less of an issue. Besides, the palate is quite fresh and lively. A bonza barbecue red.

90 points (Special Value) Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2025

The family vineyards of Bremerton sit in the rich soil of the Bremer River flood plain in the Langhorne Creek region of South Australia. Known for its high and consistent quality of fruit, the region enjoys long growing seasons thanks to the moderating effects of Lake Alexandrina. Long sought after for blending, increasing amounts of the region’s wine is now bottled by family estates like that run by the Willson sisters, Rebecca and Lucy. They have built Bremerton over the last three decades from an old lucerne farm to a 120-ha vineyard, producing up to 40,000 cases per year and exporting to numerous overseas markets.

The Coulthard name recognises the siblings’ maternal Cornish heritage. All fruit is estate grown, fermented in small open top fermenters and matured for up to 18 months in new and seasoned fine grain American and French oak. The 2023 vintage was challenging for the region due to a deluge of rain in spring as well as towards the end of the season, leading to a rushed race to get fruit off the vines in time. Quality of fruit was generally good, and even exceptional for some varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon being one of them.

The wine opens with a gentle inviting nose of ripe blackcurrants with subtle cedar and herb notes. The palate is dark fruited, juicy and smooth, with refreshing brightness and fine dusty tannins.

Cabernet has real affinity with the Latin kitchen. Open this for an afternoon with friends and grilled steak tacos, mushroom-filled fajitas or Lomo Saltado (Peruvian style beef stir fry).