The word ‘respect’ is not to be taken lightly or used willy nilly. When used, it adds quite amount of weight to a situation, let’s be honest.
It is obvious to me the Mitchell family have a lot of respect for Clare Valley Cabernet. They clearly know how to treat it and when to show it to the wine loving world. That’s a skill in itself.
Incredible from the outset. Great, great colour and it just goes on a gradual, upward plane from here. A berry basket bonanza on the nose and it still smells pretty fresh even though the (new?) oak says a quiet hello.
There’s nothing quiet about the flavours though. On the palate it gives you everything a red wine could possibly possess but in such a powerful yet subtle way. The black fruits start it off, the oak joins in, the tannins accept an invitation then the black fruits come back around to wrap it all up…and repeat. It seems to keep on giving and presenting. I must say, the tannins seemed to break away from this conga line and show themselves individually but the fruit is such it doesn’t take much to pull them back into line. Time in the cellar will soon fix this.
I stand, remove my hat and tip it in deference to the crew at Mitchell Wines. They deserve it for, yet again, holding a wine back and releasing it at 8 years of age. And what a wine it is and will be!
Region: Clare Valley, SA Price: $28 Source: Sample courtesy of Mitchell Wines
Words from a Wine Glass 