David Hohnen, founding father of this eminent Margaret River winery, would surely be massively proud of this wine.
Replicating the standard of a superior classed growth from Bordeaux of the same era, perhaps more akin to a 1982 than a 1983, this Outstanding wine displays a deep youthful ruby colour with only minimal aging revealed in the very outer edges. Upon opening the wine was all creosote, duck pond and leafy greens, but, given sufficient oxygen, transformed into what I could only describe as a classical mature Claret bouquet. Harbouring a dazzling array of nuance - cigar box, currants, herbs, capsicum, sandalwood, sweet earth, juicy black plums and umpteen other skerricks of this and that one could wax lyrical about, I could not help but to go back to the bouquet time and time again as the last vestiges of the bottle remained in the glass. To pour any more of this down the gullet was becoming increasingly difficult - for fear of allowing the incredible complexity of the nose to disappear!
If anything the palate didn’t quite scale the same height but I cannot offer any faults or criticism. Beautifully honed (sorry about the pun), nicely compact, wonderfully integrated with plenty of juicy curranty fruit, a superb herbaceous streak, terrific line, finely crafted tannin structure, particularly good acid cut, good length - what else can one ask for? If such a well-crafted and -preserved wine can be so intact after 25 years (and in this case, from someone unknown’s cellar and recently purchased for a mere 50 bucks), I wonder what our more talented winemakers could do with of our better viticultural regions and their suited grape varieties? So delighted am I in trying this great example of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon, I have no hesitation in awarding it 93 points. If all other bottles of this were of a similar standard I suggest the wine could last for another 10 years. I hope David still has some of this stashed away for very special occasions!