Wendouree Clare Valley Cabernet Malbec 2020

‘AP Birks’ Wendouree is among Australia’s most collectible and sought after names in wine. This is picture perfect South Australia, Chocolate brown soils of the Clare hills, broken up with the contrast of rustic old buildings and eucalyptus trees.

Planting commenced in 1892 with a 0.2Ha block of Cabernet Sauvignon and then subsequent Birks generations planted further varieties, Shiraz in 1911 and additional Cabernet planting in 1971, eventually ending up with 50Ha of vines in total. Through time, overall plantings were reduced to about 25Ha in order to better manage the quality of the soil & the fruit to focus on making the best wines possible.

Vines are all dry-grown (no irrigation), produce grapes of fantastic concentration of flavour from the now, knarled old vines. Ultimately delivering a wine of concentration and power, built to stand the test of time. Needless to say, production is extremely limited with most wines sold through an allocation program.

"Lovely perfume of violet, cedar and pencils, blackberry, raspberry, plum and blackcurrant, subtle mintiness, cold brew coffee, maybe. It’s medium-bodied, dense and ferrous, all the ‘mineral’ feel with dense stony tannin, a lot of pencil character, cool fine acidity, and in a way, it comes over kind of like a Yarra Valley Cabernet as much as Clare. Finish offers excellent length, and a slick of cocoa powder tannin. It’s a less concentrated than is usual, a little more autumnal and grainy in tannin, but thoroughly charming, offering a certain ‘coolness’ in feel. Different, but excellent. 96 points by a whisker, if that makes sense. Date: Aug 2022; Alcohol: 13.4%; Closure: Screwcap; Drink: 2024-2040+; Rated: 96 Points; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front"