2023 Medhurst Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec | 96 Point Yarra Valley Red

🏆 96 HALLIDAY | TOP 100 WINES | TOP GOLD | ONE OF THE YARRA VALLEY'S STAR CABERNET BLENDS

A beautifully composed Yarra Valley Bordeaux-inspired red blend

This is exactly the sort of wine serious Cabernet drinkers should be looking for.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Yarra Valley, Victoria

RRP $46.50 a bottle

96 Points for $46.50 – This Is Seriously Good Buying

This could be one of the sleepers in the entire Medhurst range.

The 2023 Medhurst Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec takes the classic structure of Cabernet Sauvignon and builds around it with the flesh and generosity of Merlot and the colour, perfume and dark-fruited intensity of Malbec.

The result is a beautifully composed Yarra Valley Bordeaux-inspired red blend with elegance, structure and genuine cellaring potential.

Halliday Wine Companion lists the 2023 as a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec blend, with 13.5% alcohol.

And with your 96-point Halliday Wine Companion score and an RRP of only $46.50, the value proposition is exceptional.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

That's a massive result for a sub-$50 red.

Halliday tasted the wine in November 2024 and recorded an original tasted price of $45, confirming just how strongly this wine sits in the value end of premium Yarra Valley Cabernet blends.

This is exactly the sort of wine serious Cabernet drinkers should be looking for.

It has pedigree and structure, but you don't need to spend $100+ to get it.

Tasting Notes

Expect a beautifully layered red showing:

• Blackberry
• Cassis
• Blackcurrant
• Black plum
• Dark cherry
• Tobacco
• Cedar
• Mocha and spice
• Dried herbs
• Fine-grained tannins

The style is vibrant, aromatic and medium-bodied, rather than enormous or heavily extracted. Current tasting descriptions highlight blackberry, cassis and plum alongside tobacco, cedar and mocha spice, with fine tannins and balanced acidity.

There's plenty of fruit through the middle of the palate, but the real appeal is the savoury complexity underneath.

Dark fruit. Cedar. Tobacco. Spice. Fine tannin. Freshness.

That's classic Cabernet-blend territory.

Cabernet + Merlot + Malbec

This is a fascinating blend because each variety brings something different.

Cabernet Sauvignon

The backbone.

Cabernet contributes cassis, blackcurrant, structure, tannin and longevity.

Merlot

The flesh.

Merlot brings plum, softness and mid-palate generosity, rounding out Cabernet's firmer structure.

Malbec

The seasoning.

Malbec contributes colour, perfume, dark fruit and spice, giving the finished wine another layer of personality.

Medhurst planted small parcels of Merlot and Malbec in 2017 specifically to contribute to its Cabernet blending program.

That's important.

These varieties weren't an afterthought.

They were planted specifically to give Medhurst more blending options and allow the estate to build greater complexity around its Cabernet.

A Yarra Valley Take on the Bordeaux Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec immediately takes you towards Bordeaux.

But this isn't trying to taste like Bordeaux.

It's a Yarra Valley interpretation.

The cooler climate gives the wine a more fragrant, medium-bodied and energetic personality, rather than the massive concentration you might associate with warmer Australian Cabernet blends.

And at 13.5% alcohol, the 2023 retains that sense of balance and restraint.

That's why Yarra Valley Cabernet blends can be so good.

They combine ripe fruit with perfume, savoury complexity, acidity and fine tannins.

Best Cabernet Blend – Yarra Valley Wine Show

There's another reason this wine deserves attention.

The 2023 Medhurst Cabernet Merlot Malbec is also reported as winning Best Cabernet Blend at the 2024 Yarra Valley Wine Show.

So you have:

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
Best Cabernet Blend – Yarra Valley Wine Show

At RRP $46.50.

That's a seriously impressive combination.

Medhurst – Gruyere, Yarra Valley

Medhurst's estate sits at Gruyere in the Yarra Valley, with just 12.5 hectares under vine.

It's a genuinely small operation.

The winery describes its philosophy as producing wines with purity, freshness and structure, designed to reflect the site from which they come.

The Estate range is specifically positioned as a pure expression of the Medhurst site and season.

That makes this much more than simply an inexpensive Cabernet blend.

It's an estate wine with a genuine vineyard story behind it.

The Smart Buy in the Medhurst Cabernet Range

If you're looking across the Medhurst reds, this wine makes a lot of sense.

Medhurst Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
More Cabernet-driven • Cassis • Structure • Cedar • Cellaring

Medhurst Estate Cabernet Merlot Malbec
More supple • Plum • Dark berries • Spice • Immediate complexity

Medhurst Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Small-batch • Concentrated • Structured • Mature • Flagship

The Cabernet Merlot Malbec sits in a particularly attractive position.

You get serious Cabernet structure, but the Merlot and Malbec make the wine more generous and immediately approachable.

And at $46.50, the value is hard to ignore.

Food Pairings

This is a fantastic food wine.

Try it with:

• Rib-eye steak
• Slow-braised beef cheeks
• Roast lamb
• Lamb shoulder
• Wild boar ragù
• Beef bourguignon
• Charcuterie
• Mushroom dishes
• Hard cheeses

Rib-eye, slow-braised beef cheek and wild boar ragù have all been suggested as particularly good matches for the 2023.

I'd go straight for slow-cooked beef cheeks.

The richness of the meat would work beautifully with the wine's cassis, plum, cedar and fine tannin structure.

Drinking & Cellaring

There's plenty to enjoy right now.

The Merlot and Malbec bring enough generosity to make the wine approachable young, while Cabernet provides the structure for further development.

Drink now–2034+.

Give it 30–60 minutes in a decanter if you're opening it young.

Over time, expect the fresh blackberry, cassis and plum characters to move towards more complex cedar, tobacco, earth and dried-herb notes.

Why We Love It

This is exactly the sort of wine we love finding.

It's not the most expensive wine in the range.

It doesn't carry the Reserve label.

But look at what you're getting:

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
Best Cabernet Blend – Yarra Valley Wine Show
Cabernet Sauvignon + Merlot + Malbec
Estate-grown Yarra Valley pedigree
13.5% alcohol
RRP $46.50

And the flavour profile is classic:

Blackberry. Cassis. Plum. Cedar. Tobacco. Mocha. Spice. Fine tannins.

For $46.50, this seriously over-delivers.

If you love the classic Cabernet-based wines of the Yarra Valley but want something a little softer, more generous and immediately approachable, the 2023 Medhurst Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec is an absolute winner.

96 Halliday points, regional trophy-winning pedigree and under $50 RRP—this might be one of the smartest buys in the Medhurst range.