Description
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot from the Domaine A vineyard in the Coal River Valley half an hour from Hobart (just up the road from the well known village of Richmond).
I may be biased because I worked here as a cellar hand during vintage 2006 and fell completely in love with the area and its wines but, for my money, Domaine A is the best Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in Australia. It also makes the Cabernet that is most Bordeaux-like in Australia, and yet quite different too because the purity of the light and lack of summer rain in this part of Tassie (Hobart, remember, is the second driest state capital in Australia!) results in a fruit intensity that most vineyards in Bordeaux could seriously only dream of! This is a luscious, exuberant, decadent and delicious Bordeaux blend and truly world class. I believe the 2017 was the last vintage made by (the late) Domaine A founder Peter Althaus, a man who I had the privilege to work with and whose opinions and dynamism will live with me always.
13.9% ABV.
Rated 4.2 out of 5 on Vivino.
Deep, youthful red with a tinge of purple remaining, the bouquet loaded with tobacco, humus and leaf-litter aromas, looking uncannily like a St Emilion. A trace of animal which isn’t objectionable. The palate is medium bodied and firm, with medium length and slightly sappy but not bitter tannins. A complex Bordeaux blend with a lot of merlot character, an impressive wine and good value.
—Huon Hooke (93pts)