Cabernet for kings from Yarra Valley, Margaret River and Mudgee

Four cabernet-dominant wines from the Yarra Valley, Margaret River and Mudgee have been cellared for up to eight years ahead of this special offer.

Four cabernet-dominant wines feature in this week’s offer from The Australian Wine Club.

Rudyard Kipling is rather better known for The Jungle Book than his wine appreciation, but it’s tempting to see an ode to cabernet sauvignon in his epic poem, If.

Cabernet sauvignon is the grape that can, as Kipling wrote, “talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings, nor lose the common touch”.

Standing regally alone in vintages from California to Chile to the Coonawarra, it’s equally a brilliant team player in some of the world’s most iconic blends, especially those made in Bordeaux.

The second-most planted grape in Australia behind shiraz, cabernet effortlessly showcases our variations in climate and landscape, and is one of the varietals winemakers bank on as being able to adapt to rising temperatures.

The nuances of terroir and type are illustrated in this week’s special offer case from The Australian Wine Club, a unique ensemble with an aged cabernet leitmotif but a continent’s width in variety.

Vinifera’s Organically Grown Mudgee Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from 2017 presents the grape in its singular glory with an RRP of $60 and 91 points from the Halliday Wine Companion.

Then there’s a duo of cabernet-heavy blends from the Yarra Valley: Allinda’s classic Bordeaux-style blend from 2018 has 85 per cent cabernet sauvignon plus merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot (earning 95 points from Wine Orbit), while the 2020 d’Soumah Yarra Valley Cabernet Merlot is as natural a pairing as Lillee and Thomson.

Completing the foursome is the 2017 Thompson Estate Cabernet Merlot, which adds malbec and cabernet franc to its Margaret River blend for a 93-point rating from the Halliday Wine Companion – all of which makes a 50 per cent discount look rather appealing.

While Margaret River and Coonawarra cabernet tends to corner much of the conversation around the varietal here, Soumah Wines founder Brett Butcher notes that Yarra Valley has long been producing in-demand examples.

“Cabernet was being made in the Yarra Valley and sold to the UK 170 years ago, it’s long been really popular here,” Butcher tells us in between pouring samples at the Soumah cellar door on an autumn Sunday.

“I think Valley cabernet presents a really French style because it has a lot of that capsicum-y herbaceousness. So this is one of the areas in Australia that can actually give you that, rather than just being so fruit forward.

“Although Yarra Valley is known for pinot noir, the most expensive wines in the Valley are cab blends.”

Butcher admits that cabernet wasn’t particularly on the agenda of Soumah’s founders when they bought a vineyard two decades ago with the aim of adding a winery and restaurant.

In fact they joke that cabernet “and its mates” are something of a ring-in.

“When we came here we were really concentrating on eastern French wines, Burgundy and the Rhone, and then into Italy with varietals like savarro and nebbiolo,” Butcher says.

“There was cabernet in this vineyard already but we pulled most of it out. That’s why we joke it’s a ring-in, it was just sort of here, but actually now we’re experimenting – we’ve planted some cabernet franc and we can look at more of a traditional Bordeaux blend.

“One of the reasons we went to northern Italy with our grape selection is because the world is warming up. We’re already historically hotter than Burgundy.

“So we thought it’s a natural thing for us to start to grow these grapes, which is where our climate’s going to. But Bordeaux has always been hotter than the Yarra and so that’s why I think cabernet is also part of the future for us.”

Vinifera Organically Grown Mudgee Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2017

Age shall not weary a cool-climate stunner, presenting ruby to the eye and menthol, grassy herbs, blackcurrant and vanilla on the nose. The palate is fruit-rich with a crushed handful of mint, the juiciness balanced elegantly by firm tannins that give great structure and a velvety feel on the tongue. 91 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14.5% alc, RRP $60 a bottle.

SPECIALS $54.99 in any dozen, $19.99 in Aged Cabernet dozen.

Soumah Yarra Valley Cabernet Merlot 2020

The softness and depth here just underscore the happy marriage of cab sav and merlot. There’s blackcurrant and cassis on the nose, an earthy herbiness, cedar and plum notes plus wafts of tobacco. The palate is soft and beguiling, with intense fruit flavours across a medium body bathed in a persistent and juicy acidity. 13.5% alc, RRP $30 a bottle.

SPECIALS $25.99 in any dozen, $19.99 in Aged Cabernet dozen.

Allinda Yarra Valley Cabernets 2018

The savouriness on the nose and tongue hint at the years in the bottle but there’s still plenty of ageing potential. Cassis, blackcurrant and pencil shavings come first as you sniff, with cedar and menthol, a bit of spice and vanilla. The palate follows through with similar fruit and flashes of mint and aniseed, dark chocolate and lots of freshness. 95 points, Wine Orbit. 13% alc, RRP $30 a bottle

SPECIALS $24.99 in any dozen, $19.99 in Aged Cabernet dozen.

Thompson Estate Cabernet Merlot 2017

No wonder Margaret River cab savs are well loved, for the mix of smoky, herbal notes on the nose, shrouding the core of blackcurrant and plum, hint at the complexity to come. On the palate, merlot’s softness snuggles comfortably with cabernet’s polished elegance: there’s more dark fruit, coffee and chocolate on the finish and soft tannins. 93 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14.5% alc, RRP $35 a bottle.

SPECIALS $28.99 in any dozen, $19.99 in Aged Cabernet dozen.

AGED CABERNET DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $19.99 a bottle.SAVE $225

Order online or phone [phone] Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST and quote ‘AC4D’. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.