Recently I had a conversation with a young bloke who knew I was into wine. He told me Cabernet was his go-to wine. Two things surprised me about the comment. Firstly, a young bloke talking about wine instead of beer, bourbon or whisky. Secondly, saying his go-to wine is Cabernet (I would’ve expected Shiraz). I had to delve deeper. As it turned out, his father was a staunch Cabernet drinker and he regularly shared a wine with his dad from a well known Cabernet region. How good is that?! I asked if he’d thought of trying one from a different region and he was genuinely interested in hearing my suggestions, one of which was Orange.
Definite Cabernet Sauvignon greeting on the nose with lovely black fruits, a sweetish red berry influence in there too and a sprinkle of herbs and spice. There’s a lot to like on the similarly appointed palate. The usual suspects of blackberries and blackcurrants arrive with gusto, yet dried Italian herbs and some chocolate characters don’t miss out on some of the limelight. Interestingly, I found it to be quite savoury, yet there was a sweet fruit touch to it as well in a balanced way I must add. Yes, there’s oak, yes there’s (slightly drying) tannins, but it all comes together in an elegant, smooth, medium bodied wine.
My opinion only of course but, I think it is drinking very well now at 4 years of age. It may have some time up its sleeve but at $22 a bottle, why wait?!
Region: Orange, NSW Price: $22 Source: Sample courtesy of Angullong wines and Define Wine
Words from a Wine Glass 