Description
// 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc & 2% Malbec
"2021 vintage marks the 50th year of plantings for Cabernet Sauvignon at the Cullen Wilyabrup vineyard. Serendipity allows it also to be Diana Madeline’s 100th year, beginning on 11th February 2023. This wine is the culmination of over 50 years of dedication effort and respect for the land. The quest for better quality wine made using sustainable methods. The grapes for this wine were hand harvested on the biodynamic fruit and flower days across 5 picks from the middle of March to the super Moon Flower day two weeks later (including a Moon opposite Saturn fruit day harvest). It was then aged in 50% new oak for a period of 15 months with barriques and puncheons and biodynamic barrels included.
Deep garnett mulberry, purple meniscus colours. Bouquet of cherries, ironstone, dark chocolate, cedar, rose, plum; the aromas singing with sweet power on this flower day of tasting, lifting out of the glass and filling the room. On the palate, a truly profound wine with great depth, length, and concentration. The fine tannins wrap around the front palate and the flavours of plum, salty plum, dark chocolate, cherry, cedar, rose and sandalwood flow energetically, leaving a long, juicy unctuous finish. The complexity reflects the vines; 50 years since planting. Drink now or cellar up to 50 years." - Winemaker Notes
The newly released DM Cabernet is a particularly auspicious one, celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of Diana Madeline herself. No doubt, she would have been delighted with the wine. In fact, it is very hard to remember when this Cabernet would not have been amongst the very best released in this country. This latest release is likely to be seen as one of the finest they have ever made. This is not just a great Margaret River wine, it is a great wine. Deep opaque purple hue. The nose is a whirling dervish of spices, cherries, tobacco leaves, cassis, black fruits, leather and dried herbs. Hints of cloves and blackberries. The structure is immaculate. The wine is focused, with the intensity maintained the full length to a very long finish. Silky tannins. Certainly young now, and although it really is enjoyable, expect this wine to give great pleasure over the next two decades. It is going to get even better. This will surely be one of the top wines of the year, even at this early stage." - 98 Points, Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot
