Yalumba The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Yalumba The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon, Menzies Estate Vineyard, Coonawarra, Australia, 2018   

Grapes: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon & 8% Malbec, 16 months' ageing in oak. 

Producer Tasting Note:

A perfumed wine, displaying spice notes, lavender and violets, with fruit aromatics of warm strawberries, blackberries, and the quintessential note of sea-spray that the region is known for. Peppery, fresh and alive with youthful tannins, the moderate to long palate has intense red-purple cassis fruit. 

The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon is named after the unique cigar-shaped strip of rich terra rossa soil that defines the famous Coonawarra wine region. 

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Dense, deep ruby-black, lighter on the rim. The nose is full, rich, and broody with nuances of boysenberries, cassis, ripe plums entwined with cardamom, cloves, vanilla, unfolding leather and cigar. Full-bodied, the wine is mouth-filling, succulent aromas cassis, boysenberries, black plums enriched by an amalgam of barrel spices, vanilla, cloves, cardamom, draws a long line with integrated acidity, linger with cocoa, leather and cigar box nuances. The mouthfeel is silky smooth, with ripe, fine-grained tannin, filling the palate with a soft yet firm grip. Succulent fruit supported by lively, integrated acidity carries flavour richness to a long, sustained finish. This classic, complex Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon shows vibrant and dense black fruit and bright acidity with a fine tannin structure with cellar-worthy quality. Match with charred t-bone steak with porcini sauce over the next 10 years. Fermented to 14% alc, aged 16 months in new French oak barriques and hogsheads (20%), one-year-old French oak barriques and hogsheads (10%), balance in older French oak. Vegan friendly."

18.5+/20 points, Raymond Chan Wine Reviews, September 2021.

"A little bit (8%) of Malbec joins the Cabernet, the wine matured 16 months in French oak, some new. From classic terra rossa soil. Very attractive, all about quite bold and creamy cassis. It doesn't move into jamminess, but instead the sweet and ripe plushness of the fruit is balanced by structural, fine tannin and acid components. It is sauve and smoothly creamy with no jagged edges, but it has balance and great length. This one should age too."

92/100 points, Tom Cannavan, January 2023