Cabernet wines to try

Cabernet sauvignon is a wonderful wine for winter drinking and it will also reward careful cellaring. Appreciate its beauty with the top examples ahead, each with the variety’s characteristic intensity of colour and flavour.

2014 Xanadu Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker says: Full-bodied yet refined, the generous palate offers a core of inky berries and dark, fleshy fruit – from boysenberry and blackcurrant to Satsuma plum. Best Cabernet trophy winner at the 2016 National Wine Show of Australia, awarded by James Halliday.

RRP $39 | 2040 | Xanadu Wines

2012 St Hugo Cellar Collection Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker says: Notes of cassis, dark cherry and cedar spice. Harmony and balance are immediately apparent in this elegant but generous wine, with a lovely fine-grained texture and great length. Rated 95 points by James Halliday.

RRP $100 | 2032 | St Hugo

2015 Shirvington McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker says: Aromas of juicy red and blackcurrants, plus traces of aniseed and cedar oak. These flavours flow on to the palate along with ripe raspberries. This is a fresh and vibrant cabernet with a generous, savoury core.

RRP $32 | 2029 | Shirvington

2015 Pepper Tree Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker says: A fragrant, drink-now style of cabernet full of blackcurrant, red fruit and hints of dried herb. The tannins are fine and the mid-palate juicy.

RRP $19 | 2020 | Pepper Tree Wines

2015 Bleasdale Frank Potts Cabernet Blend

Winemaker says: Layered and complex notes of red berry, blackcurrant, plum and lifted violet on the nose. These characters continue on to the palate, supported by fine oak tannins that provide balance, structure, and persistence.

RRP $35 | 2035 | Bleasdale

Learn all you need to know about cabernet sauvignon in our essential guide.