2024 Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon, Great Southern

The cooler Great Southern has certainly helped this excellent Cabernet from what was a hot year. It shows some quite pretty floral lifts on the nose, with a slightly spicy nuance. The palate tends more into the medium-bodied zone, with impeccable balance of fine chalky tannins, some neatly applied oak, and high-quality fruit. It’s a flavoursome, rich, finely balanced wine of impeccable poise with a very long, focused finish. Drink to 2041.

95 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, July 2026

The fruit for the Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Abercrombie vineyard, planted in 1975 and one of the oldest significant Cabernet sites in Western Australia. The vineyard sits on Scotsdale Road outside Denmark, a stretch of tall karri and marri forest that opens eventually to Southern Ocean views — one of the more quietly spectacular corners of the Great Southern. Howard Park has drawn on this site since the label's earliest vintages, and the vineyard's character is consistent and unmistakable.

Great Southern Cabernet is a different proposition from Margaret River. Where Margaret River tends toward density and structure, the Great Southern gives a more aromatic, lifted expression — floral and perfumed, with a fineness of tannin that suits earlier drinking without sacrificing depth. The 2024 season was warm and early across both regions, producing concentrated, well-defined fruit with natural freshness preserved by the cool maritime influence nearby.

Deep crimson, the nose is fragrant and detailed — Parma violet, cassis, dark cherry and a hint of graphite and cedar. The palate is generous and finely structured, with blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, fine-grained tannins and a long, composed finish. A wine that rewards both patience and immediate enjoyment with a good decant.

Lamb, slow-roasted beef, a Japanese Wagyu steak or a simple roast with herbs. Worth opening a bottle alongside the Leston if you want to understand what two regions can do with the same variety.

Drink now through 2032.