Crayères Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2018
“The grape’s lifted aromatics is a mighty appealing add on, and this is a wine that celebrates fruit: those juicy, generous balls of black and red berries are in fine form.
Maybe the vintage did the leading here and the winemaker followed. The 2018 vintage was warmer than usual. Ripeness is clearly not a problem, with the wine boasting 14.5% alcohol. And it also seems to have inspired the maker to employ 21% new French oak. The fruit slurps it up and the result is a beautifully balanced wine.
Unrestrained, buoyant scent of black fruits, pomegranate and spice rise from the glass. The palate, well-meshed and almost voluptuous by Hills standards, brings life to the classic Aussie red blend now sadly in a continuing sales decline since the grand 70s and 80s.
Maybe this wine will help reinvigorate drinkers who gave up on the blend and alert new chums to the style’s generosity and utter drinkability. Let’s hope so.” 94 points
Jeni Port, winepilot.com
