South Africa Cabernet Sauvignon

Meerlust

Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2006

Wine 1500 🙈 ; opened for World Cup starting 2026 Mexico and South Africa; The cork popped off…; but still managed to get the fine juice out 😉; Vintage 2006, just like the „Summer Fairy Tale“ of the World Cup in Germany; and the wine leaves you wanting more „mehr Lust“, beautifully aged, fine fruit 😋 Wishing everyone a wonderful and peaceful World Cup — 17 days ago

Dave, Angelo and 2 others liked this

Penfolds

Max's South Australia Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Blend of Shiraz (64%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (36%). Dark ruby color with purple highlights and a fine garnet rim. Aromas of ripe dark fruit, milk chocolate, mint and a bit of alcohol heat. Flavors of black cherry, currant and raspberry fruit, smoked/cured meat, cola, black pepper and baking spices. Medium-plus finish, slightly chewy tannins and noticeable oak. Creamy texture and quite bold. Thinking that laying this one down for a few years helped it mellow a bit. Solid quality for the price. — 2 months ago

Tom, Paul and 4 others liked this

Penfolds

Bin 389 South Australia Cabernet Shiraz 2023

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2023
South Australia 🇦🇺

Overview
A more tightly wound and concentrated expression of Bin 389, showcasing the same Cabernet-Shiraz framework (Cabernet for backbone, Shiraz for richness) but delivered with greater tension, density, and youthful drive. This vintage leans more serious and structured than 2022, highlighting the fascinating impact vintage conditions have on balance, ripeness, and extraction in agricultural wines.

Aromas & Flavors
Intense blackcurrant, crushed blackberry, dark cherry, and graphite dominate the aromatics, layered with fresh cedar, cocoa nib, and subtle minty spice. The palate is compact and powerful, showing darker fruit concentration, savory spice, and tightly coiled oak structure that promises excellent evolution with time.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied and more compact than the 2022. Tannins are firmer and more youthful, giving a punchier, more linear profile. The wine feels energetic and focused, with impressive density and length, clearly built for further integration.

Food Pairings
Char-grilled steak or venison. Slow-braised beef cheeks. Pepper-crusted lamb. Smoked meats and firm aged cheeses.

Verdict
A bolder, more muscular Bin 389 that trades immediate plushness for intensity and aging potential. A striking reminder of how vintage variation shapes personality, same blueprint, very different expression.

Did You Know?
Penfolds sources fruit for Bin 389 from multiple South Australian regions, blending different terroirs and climates to build complexity, consistency, and layered structure across vintages.

🍷 Personal Pick
If you enjoy tracking wine evolution, this is a fantastic candidate for short-to-mid-term cellaring, revisit in a few years to watch the structure melt into harmony. Also check my previous 2022 review!
— 5 months ago

Freddy, ESF and 4 others liked this

Penfolds

Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim. Not showing much age.

Beautiful nose of blueberries, blackberries, plums, cooked cherries, spices, licorice, cedar, earth, chocolates, vanilla, rhubarb and black pepper.

Medium plus in body and soft, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black currants, black plums, cherries, toast, cedar, light vanilla, mediterranean spices, licorice, chocolates, tobacco, herbs, earth and peppercorn.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia. Rich and elegant. Fruit forward and complex. Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel. Spicy and entertaining.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 60 minutes of airtime.

Robert Parker 91 points. Wine Spectator 91 points.

This 23 year old is drinking beautifully now and will continue to drink nicely in the next few years.

I've had a few vintages of this wine and it is very consistent.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food like lamb dishes.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were aged in all new American oak barrels for 14 months.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

94 points.

$225.
— 9 months ago

Bob, Juan and 15 others liked this

Penfolds

Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Dense Ruby from an excellent ripe vintage. Blackberry, black currant and cassis - a classic South Australian Cabernet in all senses, complete with some herbal notes. It’s nothing like its big brother Bin 707 which is bigger and more full bodied even though the 407 has a drinking window through to 2045 according to the Rewards of Patience. The fruit for the 407 is multi regional from all major vineyard districts in South Australia. It is not often you open a 16 year old wine and say you’ve opened it too early but this could be the case here. — 5 days ago

Jan, Somm and 11 others liked this
Jeroen Koenen

Jeroen Koenen

Okay, thanks! Any thoughts of its style/reputation/quality..?
Bob McDonald

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Bin 169 would be excellent. A point of difference to the 707 is that 707 is American oak whereas 169 is French oak.
Jeroen Koenen

Jeroen Koenen

Okay! Interesting.
Alas - based on your findings - I should wait at least 10 years before I crack my OWC of 2019 Bin169… 😱

Penfolds

Koonunga Hill South Australia Shiraz Cabernet 2021

Good but nothing great only buy the small bottles for mid week wines — a month ago

Boekenhoutskloof

The Chocolate Block Cinsault Blend 2023

Light fruity aroma, dark red, medium body, dry and succulent, dark fruit flavor, paired nicely with venison. — 5 months ago

Wynns Coonawarra Estate

Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

Bought at the winery after tasting in 1999, my first pilgrimage to Coonawarra. Opened very stinky but blew off with air over 30 mins to beautiful fragrant nose and that sweet soft tannin of an aged Coonawarra Cabernet. Drank gloriously over the next two hours. Still full of life at 29 years old. — 7 months ago

Two Hands

Sexy Beast McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Powerfull well rounded blueberry and black currants. Soft tannins carrying pepper leather and tobacco. Well balanced with acidity that rounds out the red fruit flavors the wine is abundant with. — 8 months ago

Mollydooker Wines

The Maitre D Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Dark Ruby color with aromas of berry fruit with earthy spice tones. On the palate cherry and blackberry flavors with pepper spice, tobacco and cacao on fine dusty tannins. Medium+ finish, nice mouthfeel, ending with fruit and an oak mineral character. — 9 months ago

Tom, Andrew and 2 others liked this

Moss Wood

Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Definitely one of the best Cabernet Sauvignons I have had this year - also one of the oldest. What a beautiful perfumed nose - red florals, red fruits, mulberry and Spice. A well balanced medium weight palate with those same aromatics coming through on the palate. Smooth resolved tannins. This is the last of a dozen bought on release in the early 2000’s from an excellent vintage. This is living proof of how good Margaret River Cabernet is for top quality Cab. 2 hours later that beautiful perfumed nose never quits. I wish I had a few more bottles left. I do have a magnum of 1996 which needs to be drunk. 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. — a day ago

Kanonkop Estate

Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

See earlier notes — 24 days ago

Tom and Bob liked this

Yalumba

The Cigar Menzies Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Not overly complex but nonetheless delightful. Sweet Coonawarra dusty tannin! — 3 months ago

Yalumba

The Signature Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2006

Lots of mint on the nose (69% Cabernet Sauvignon; 31% Shiraz) together with blackberry. On the palate plenty of drive and power in this Cabernet Shiraz blend - layers of fruit, oak and spice. Rich and full bodied - the perfect accompaniment for a vintage Porterhouse steak - Waygu marbelling. Oak has integrated since the tasting 5 years ago. A pity that it takes 20 years for Yalumba’s Signature red to reach its peak but probably true. Interestingly the wine is matured for 22 months in American, French and Hungarian barrels coopered at Yalumba. This was the last bottle from a dozen originally purchased. — 5 months ago

Scott@Mister, Somm and 24 others liked this
Somm David T

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An excellent & historical visit.
Bob McDonald

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@Somm David T I’m sure the Hill-Smiths would have been excellent hosts.

Penley Estate

Phoenix Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Surprisingly solid Cabernet for the money! — 7 months ago

Leeuwin Estate

Art Series Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Sunday Lunch with Roast Lamb. Deep Ruby in colour - very dense. A very Margaret River Cabernet - nose with herbs and a little mint. Barb thought a bit of capsicum (bell pepper) on the nose. On the medium bodied balanced palate the tannins are quite soft yet persistent. Leeuwin Estate better known for its outstanding Art Series Chardonnay has been working hard with the red varieties and it shows. — 9 months ago

Jan, Douglas and 19 others liked this
Ming L

Ming L

I had the chance to taste couple older vintages (01 and 03) and was quite impressed. While price for the Chard is approaching $100 here, the Cab is still very reasonably priced. @Bob McDonald .
Bob McDonald

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@Ming L Yes, the pricing differential between the 2 Cuvées is much the same here in Australia.