2022 Medhurst Estate Cabernet Sauvignon | 96 Point Yarra Valley Cabernet

🔥 96 POINTS | MEDHURST ESTATE | DON'T UNDERESTIMATE YARRA VALLEY CABERNET

Don't Forget How Great Yarra Valley Cabernet Can Be

2022 was a stunning year for Cabernet Sauvignon.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Yarra Valley, Victoria

RRP $57.50 a bottle

The Yarra Valley might be famous today for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but some of its greatest and most age-worthy wines have always been Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 2022 Medhurst Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a brilliant reminder of that.

This is classic cool-climate Cabernet: fragrant, medium-bodied and beautifully refined, with cassis and dark fruit accompanied by violets, cedar, mountain herbs and silky, fine-grained tannins.

And the critics loved it.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

At RRP $57.50, this is a seriously impressive bottle of Yarra Valley Cabernet.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Philip Rich at Halliday Wine Companion awarded the wine 96 points.

That's exactly the appeal here.

This isn't Cabernet built around sheer size.

It's about:

Perfume. Fruit purity. Fine tannins. Freshness. Elegance.

And at only 13% alcohol, there's genuine restraint.

Tasting Notes

Expect a beautifully complex Cabernet showing:

• Blackberry
• Cassis
• Blackcurrant
• Ripe cherry
• Violets
• Cedar
• Mountain herbs
• Subtle graphite
• Fine French oak
• Silky tannins

Medhurst describes a complex cool-climate Cabernet nose built around blackberry, cassis and ripe fruit, with perfectly ripe, soft tannins defining the palate.

Halliday adds another dimension with cherry, violets, cedar and mountain herbs.

There's intensity, but no heaviness.

The fruit is beautifully ripe, the tannins are polished and the wine carries itself with the effortless medium-bodied elegance that makes great Yarra Cabernet so distinctive.

Estate-Grown Cabernet from Gruyere

This isn't generic Yarra Valley Cabernet.

The fruit comes from D Block of Medhurst's Gruyere estate vineyard.

Aspect – North
Elevation – 182–208 metres
Harvested – 29 March 2022
Alcohol – 13%

The later March harvest is significant. Cabernet needs a long season to achieve flavour and tannin maturity, and the 2022 growing season provided exactly that.

This is genuine estate-grown Cabernet with a strong sense of place.

2022 – A Stunning Year for Cabernet Sauvignon

This is one of the most exciting parts of the story.

Medhurst describes 2022 as the third cool growing season in succession, with challenging weather reducing yields significantly in earlier-ripening Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Cabernet was a different story.

A long Indian summer allowed the Cabernet to hang and ripen slowly, achieving beautifully mature, soft tannins while retaining relatively low alcohol.

Medhurst's verdict is emphatic:

2022 was a stunning year for Cabernet Sauvignon.

And that's exactly what you want to hear when buying Cabernet for the cellar.

Only 230 Dozen Produced

Here's something that makes the wine even more compelling.

Only 230 dozen were produced.

That's just 2,760 bottles.

For an estate-grown, 96-point Yarra Valley Cabernet at $57.50, that's remarkably small production.

The fruit was carefully sorted after harvest, with individual berries selected before fermentation.

This isn't mass-produced Cabernet.

It's serious small-batch wine.

24 Days on Skins

The winemaking tells you just how seriously Medhurst treats its Cabernet.

After being harvested on March 29, the fruit was chilled overnight before the bunches were destemmed onto a sorting table for individual berry selection.

The selected fruit was then transferred into open fermenters.

And here's the important part:

The wine remained on skins for 24 days.

That extended maceration was designed to extract the fine, silky tannins required for both structure and longevity.

This isn't Cabernet made simply for immediate fruitiness.

It's built to age.

French Oak – 35% New

After pressing, the Cabernet was transferred into French oak barriques.

The wine initially saw:

35% new French oak

before further maturation, ultimately spending approximately 11 months in oak prior to its final élevage and bottling in November 2023.

Again, the balance is important.

There's enough new oak to bring cedar, spice and structure, but not so much that you lose the Cabernet fruit.

The result is classic:

Cassis + violet + cedar + herbs + fine tannin.

Yarra Valley Cabernet Deserves More Attention

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate the modern conversation around the Yarra Valley.

But Cabernet has an extraordinary history here.

And some of the region's most famous wines—from producers such as Mount Mary, Yarra Yering and Wantirna Estate—have demonstrated just how profound Yarra Valley Cabernet can be.

The secret is the style.

Great Yarra Cabernet doesn't need enormous alcohol or massive extraction.

It can be medium-bodied, fragrant, savoury and incredibly elegant.

That's exactly what you get with the 2022 Medhurst Estate Cabernet.

Built for the Cellar

This isn't just a wine for drinking young.

Medhurst specifically says the perfectly ripe tannins should allow the 2022 Cabernet to continue improving with careful cellaring for at least a decade and lists its cellaring potential as 10+ years.

Halliday also sees plenty of life ahead, highlighting its fine tannin structure and ability to provide enjoyment over the coming years and beyond.

Drink now–2035+.

Right now, expect vibrant cassis, cherry and violet.

With time, those characters should move towards more complex cedar, tobacco, earth and dried-herb notes.

Food Pairings

Medhurst recommends this with Mayura Station Wagyu rump, French fries and sautéed green beans.

I'd also try it with:

• Rib-eye steak
• Roast beef
• Beef Wellington
• Roast lamb
• Lamb shoulder
• Venison
• Slow-cooked beef cheek
• Wild mushrooms
• Aged cheddar

This is Cabernet that deserves a good piece of beef.

Why We Love It

This could be one of the smartest Cabernet buys in the Yarra Valley.

Look at the combination:

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
Only 230 dozen produced
Estate-grown fruit
24 days on skins
35% new French oak
13% alcohol
10+ year cellaring potential
RRP $57.50

But the real attraction is the style.

Cassis. Blackberry. Cherry. Violets. Cedar. Mountain herbs. Fine tannins.

It's everything great cool-climate Cabernet should be.

There is enough fruit to make it delicious now, but enough structure and balance to make you want to put several bottles away.

If you love the classic Cabernet wines of Mount Mary and Yarra Yering, or simply want to rediscover just how good Yarra Valley Cabernet can be, the 2022 Medhurst Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is an absolute must.

96 Halliday points. $57.50 RRP. Only 230 dozen made. This seriously over-delivers.