2023 Kay Brothers Cuthbert Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale

Released in top vintages, which, for winemaker Duncan Kennedy, are generally the cooler ones, with this registering at 13% alcohol. Ageing was in French hogsheads. A cooler year, yes, and modest abv, but this has neatly poised ripeness, capturing mulberry, forest berries, blue and black, while also feeding in some blackcurrant leaf, hedgerow and violet. Medium in weight, with pencil-shaving/graphite, dry tobacco, iodine and cedar notes, the tannins aptly linear, some sweet spice expanding through the finish. It’s a fine example of an often underappreciated grape in the region. Drink 2026 to 2036.

95 points Marcus Ellis for The Wine Companion, Special Value, April 2026

90 points Silver at McLaren Vale Wine Show 2025

Kay Brothers has been tending the Amery vineyard since 1890, making it the oldest McLaren Vale winery still in founding family hands. The estate spans five distinct soil types across its 54 acres, and winemaking here remains deliberately traditional with open fermenters, hand plunging and a 1928 basket press that has been central to every vintage since it was installed.

The Cuthbert is named for second generation winemaker Cuthbert "Cud" Kay, born at Amery in 1914, who devoted his working life to the estate and whose favourite variety was always Cabernet Sauvignon. Released only in the vintages winemaker Duncan Kennedy considers suitable for the variety, it is a wine made with real purpose and patience. Fruit is open fermented and basket pressed before twenty months maturation in French oak hogsheads.

Mulberry, forest berries and blackcurrant on the nose, with violet, blackcurrant leaf and hedgerow adding fragrance and lift. The palate is medium in weight with pencil shaving, dry tobacco, cedar and a fine graphite tannin structure, building through warm spice to a long, composed finish.

This is a Cabernet of measured ripeness and genuine elegance. Give it plenty of air, and serve alongside a really nice piece of beef or a well-aged hard cheese.