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Buy OnlineThe famous Menzies label is on top form with the 2018. One of Coonawarra’s leading Cabernets with vines that are now around 30 years old. This tastes like Coonawarra Cabernet – that is cool climate in an Australian way, with cigar box, blackcurrant, olive tapenade, dried herb and a hint of mint and cedary oak. Seductive and smooth – a joyous wine that shows energy and concentration.
Winery notes (2018 Vintage)
"In 1992 the Hill-Smith family counted themselves amongst those fortunate enough to own a vineyard upon the famous Coonawarra terra rossa soil over limestone. Experimentation, innovation, minimalist intervention and small batch winemaking has resulted in The Menzies’ reputation as a wine of longevity, elegance and structure.
Deep crimson with a plum hue. Aromas of fresh rosemary, mulberry, ozone, violets and exotic spices. Take a sip and you will feel the poise and tension for which great Cabernet is renowned. A wine of great complexity with flavours of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate and mulberries, wrapped in divine tannins and a lovely sweet, dark fruit finish. With decanting in its youth it is enjoyable as an elegant full-bodied red wine.
Matured for 21 months in 30% new French and Hungarian hogsheads and French barriques, balance in 1 year and older French and Hungarian hogsheads and barriques."
97/100 Dave Brookes, James Halliday's Wine Companion, August 2022 (2018 Vintage)
"An icon in Australian wine, Yalumba’s Coonawarra-born Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon has long stood at the pointy end of our country's fine-wine pyramid, and I’m sure many will fondly remember occasions when a well-cellared example of the Menzies has knocked their socks off. Nothing’s changed…"
5 Stars & 95/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review, August 2023 (2018 Vintage)
"Deep ruby colour with a hint of purple in the rim; the bouquet is cedary, briary as well as and toasty and vanillan from liberal oak, with blackberry and cassis in the background but little sign of the greener spectrum of cabernet aromas. Intense, full-bodied and driving along the palate. Firm and grippy, impressively powerful and persistent. A seriously structured cabernet that should age long and well. It’s quite firm now, so either cellaring or a hearty protein meal are recommended."
94+100 Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, May 2023 (2018 Vintage)
"There’s a strictness to this wine. I thought it was a bit awkward at first but I think that the tannin is just taking its time to properly roll out. The roads of Rome weren’t laid smooth, but boy did they last. This wine is medium in weight, it carries some floral perfumes, it has a creaminess to its texture but there’s some race to the acidity too; a friskiness; a cool refreshment to the power of the blackcurrant-driven fruit. Peppermint and cedar are in play here too, and tobacco, the latter with an earthen almost-dryness to it. Forest berries; deserved of a mention. Hold back on this; give it some time. I’ve come to see it as beautifully constructed."
