Bekkers McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 - from $104.99 a bottle

Critics thoughts - This is the first release of a Bekkers Cabernet Sauvignon. It was grown exclusively on the Bekkers contoured vineyard at Clarendon. It’s made mostly with Cabernet Sauvignon though there’s also a small inclusion of Cabernet Franc. This is an elegant, dusty cabernet with length to burn. It’s a wine that will mature beautifully. It’s fragrant, drifted with dried herbs and green olives, and presents as both boysenberried and curranty in a fresh-faced way. It oozes confidence in that it doesn’t try too hard; it’s a quality wine, you take it as it is. It’s also a wine that builds as it breathes; the fruit swells, the tannin stretches, the finish extends like a trombone as it heads for the deep notes. There’s something ultra classical about this wine. - Campbell Mattinson, 95pts