REVIEW: The release of three 2023 cabernets is an enthusiastic salute to a stellar vintage.
I’m excited. Actually, let me take that a little further. I’m very excited.
The release of three Margaret River cabernets from the 2023 vintage will do that to a wine writer.
Readers of this column and my annual WA Wine Review will be aware that I’ve rated the 2023 vintage as the greatest single Western Australian vintage in my 40-plus years of tasting and writing about wine.
It didn’t matter whether they were chardonnays, semillons, sauvignon blancs, shiraz or cabernets. Or whether they came from Margaret River, the Great Southern, Geographe, the Swan Valley or elsewhere. The wines were outstanding.
Now, let’s jump to now and the three wines featured this week.
First off the bat is the Howard Park Abercrombie cabernet sauvignon 2023. To me, this is a wine that Howard Park has been moving towards for some years, with a steady improvement in quality across a number of years and winemakers.
This exceptional wine produced by winemaker Nick Bowen is without doubt the finest Howard Park wine yet released. It is impeccably balanced, incredibly intense and structured.
Next is the Deep Woods Estate Reserve cabernet sauvignon 2023. This is one of the best, if not the best, cabernets from Deep Woods made by Julian Langworthy. It’s sourced from the original Deep Woods Estate, which Peter Fogarty acquired some years ago, and from the established Abbey Vale vineyard. It demonstrates the poise, elegance and deeply complex characters that have become synonymous with the Langworthy style.
And then, finally, the Cullen Diana Madeline Legacy Series Full Moon Opposite Saturn cabernet 2023.
Several months ago, I said the ’23 Diana Madeline was the finest yet produced. At the time, though, I wasn’t aware that another Diana Madeline – the Full Moon Opposite Saturn Harvest – had been made (the first Legacy Series Diana Madeline).
I got pretty excited when I tasted it; so much so that I phoned the winemaker, Vanya Cullen, and gushed about what I thought of the wine. I have to say, it is probably the finest red wine yet produced at Cullen. And this is when you consider more than 40 vintages of the Diana Madeline and 10 vintages of the Vanya.
If someone wants to correct me, go ahead, but I don’t think there can be a better example of a Margaret River cabernet, which in this case also includes a small but important contribution from malbec.
Now, that’s a trio of great wines any wine aficionado should put on their bucket list.
Howard Park Abercrombie cabernet sauvignon 2023 ($160)
This is the finest Abercrombie cabernet yet released. A few things have contributed to it: the great vintage (for a start); the maturing vines on the Leston property at Margaret River; and the continued refinement with oak use, including reduction in new oak and a real focus on achieving structure through the fermentation. It is a glorious statement of Margaret River cabernet. The colour is bright and lustrous, the aromas perfumed and alive, while the palate simply sings. Fine tannins and reduced French oak harness some simply glorious fruit.
Score: 99/100
Cellar: 30 years
Cullen Wines Diana Madeline Full Moon Opposite Saturn Harvest 2023 ($350)
Just when I thought I’d seen the best of Cullen’s cabernets from the 2023 vintage, up pops this quite remarkable expression of power, finesse, elegance and concentration that is so Margaret River, so Wilyabrup, and so Cullen cabernet. It’s a structured wine with typically firm-though-controlled tannins, plenty of supremely balanced oak infusion, and fruit concentration of unfathomable depth. The aromas are highly perfumed violets, blackcurrant and even a subtle cherry character. The palate is a deep concentration of black fruits. It’s a blend of 70 per cent cabernet and 30 per cent malbec, which were co-fermented, and then matured in French barriques, 33 per cent of which was new, for 18 months.
Score: 99/100
Cellar: 40 years
Deep Woods Estate Reserve cabernet sauvignon 2023 ($90)
The best fruit from the original Deep Woods Estate and Abbey Vale properties has been brought together to create something special with this reserve cabernet from the great 2023 vintage. Every piece sits together harmoniously and with great poise. The blackcurrant, dark plummy, chocolate-like characters on the nose are lifted with a little bay leaf, dark olive and a subtle graphite character. The palate is a powerhouse but is harnessed and presented with real aplomb. It’s still tightly held together, but there is fruit richness here that makes it so appealing. Definitely a wine for the cellar, but hard to put down even now.
Score: 98/100
Cellar: 30 years
• Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected wine journalists, contributing to newspapers and magazines over more than 40 years. In 2017 he co-authored The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region
