Cabernet Sauvignon

Classical Hawke's Bay take on Bordeaux using 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot, 7% Melbec

A complex aroma of berry fruits, spice, cassis, cedar and cigarbox notes, complemented by fine oak.

Sweet rounded berry-fruit flavours of blackberry and wild brambles, mocha, spice, savoury olive notes and fine oak tannin. This wine shows a complex bouquet, silken texture and firm structure. 

Ambrosius by name and by nature, this beautiful expression of Saint Emilion Grand Cru is a dry, impressive blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Grapes were grown on sandy soil and sandstone on one vineyard and this wine represents exceptional value for money, both for drinking now and for cellaring. Expect a commanding southern French red now; expect great complexity within four or five years of bottle age. 

Celebre is a quirky Rhone-meets-Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Exact proportions of each grape vary from one vintage to the next but the wine always has dark fruit aromas and spicy notes of cocoa, cardamom and nutmeg. It drinks well when young and also has the long term potential to age beautifully in a wine cellar. 

It is dry, full bodied and evolves nicely for up to a decade.

The name Ata Rangi is Maori for dawn sky and was chosen to portray the new beginning that the start of this winery represented for founder Clive Paton in the late 1970s.  

58% Cabernet Sauvignon,  29% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc

Savoury and spicy, good complexity, with ripe blackcurrant and plum flavours. Good tannin support.

The Patriarch is Babich?s flagship red wine, grown on their Gimblett Gravels ?Irongate? vineyard in Hawke?s Bay. This blend contains Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec. The nose is darkly perfumed and warm with nutmeg and cedar notes. The palate is fleshy and full with dark plums and sweet tarry notes. Tannins bind red floral aromatics to the palate and stretch the flavours through onto the lingering finish.

This Cabernet Malbec is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. The varieties were hand-picked, de-stemmed and fermented separately in small open topped vats where they were gently hand plunged and pumped over to aid in extracting the maximum amount of flavour and colour from the berries. Following an extended maceration period the wine was transferred into French oak barrels where it spent 11 months.

This is a dark and brooding beast with fruits of the forest including Black Doris plum and spiced cherry. It is rich and powerful on the palate with a silky mouthfeel and well-pitched tannins. Attractively rounded with upfront fruit flavours this wine is very attractive now but will certainly reward with time in the cellar. Drink now through till 2030.

Ch?teau La Tour Carnet is found on the road to Saint-Julien-Beychevelle and its beautiful 12th century quadrangular tower provides an indication to the structured and elegant wine that is made here.  Made by Bernard Magrez this wine is 60% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc and offers red fruits in abundance, balanced by subtle vanilla from time in oak. The palate is medium  bodied with ample silky tannins that help drive the wine to a long and powerful finish. 

"Composed of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Chambrun is deep garnet-purple in color with warm blackberries, black cherry pie and blueberry compote with touches of fried herbs and cedar. The palate is medium to full-bodied with bags of vibrant fruit and a firm frame of rounded tannins, finishing long and refreshing."

Rating (90 - 92)+

Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown

In the heart of the Bordeaux vineyard, Chateau Carbonneau is situated 20 kilometres from St Emilion and 35 kilometres from Bergerac. In a unique and idyllic setting, the chateau offers luxury accommodation and fine wines on the slopes of Pessac sur Dordogne.

Shortly after 1992, Wilfrid and Jacquie Franc de Ferriere inherited the property and began by replanting the vineyard with grape varieties typical of the Bordeaux region, especially Merlot which grows well on the slopes of Gensac. Thus began the revival of wine at Carbonneau. The Vineyard covers 15 hectares planted on the clay/limestone soils of the slopes of Gensac.

"The medium to deep garnet colored 2009 Langoa Barton is scented of warm red and black plums, dried mulberries and blackcurrant cordial with touches of dried mint and new leather. Medium to full-bodied with a solid frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, it has loads of red and black berry preserves layers on the long, savory finish."

Rating 91
Drink Date 2019 - 2034
Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Chateau Montlabert is in the heart of St Emilion and produces some of its most outstanding red wines which have great longevity with their soft sweet warm fruit flavours and deep blackcurrant notes. Great concentration, fine smooth tannins and velvety richness all make this superb Right Bank red a wine to covet and collect. 

Winemaker Notes

Chateau Peymouton has a wonderful deep ruby color. It reveals a rich and elegant nose with delicious aromas of blackcurrant and plum. On the palate the attack is powerful, with fine, silky tannins. There are beautiful notes of ripe red fruits and the subtle minerality on the finish contributes to the freshness of the wine.

Critical Acclaim

WE91

Wine Enthusiast

Next door to, and under the same ownership as, Grand Cru Classé Château Laroque, Peymouton has produced a rich wine that has layers of tannins as well as elegantly perfumed fruit. Acidity and a dark texture give the wine its potential. Drink from 2022. 

Bordeaux at its best with the soft flesh of Merlot and structure of dark berry fruited Cabernet Sauvignon, both combining to make an outstanding wine for drinking now and for ageing. 

Château Anthonic’s vineyards extend over some 30 hectares and are composed of a mixture of clay and limestone soils (typical of the Moulis plateau) and parcels of sandy-clay and Garonne gravel. The composition is 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Sauvignon resulting in an aromatic wine with notes of cassis, florals, toasty oak and racy minerality.