Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
- 94
- $50
- Drink by: 2020 - 2034
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Mount Barker fruit to the fore here, making a statement about all kinds of vinous things. About the role of a cool climate powdery tannins and dried herbs in Cabernet Sauvignon, about the grape’s longevity, and about our expectations of the grape in this country.
Howard Park co-founder Jeff Burch says that with this wine he has been accused of making Cabernet for Pinot lovers . . . interesting analogy. I’d take it as a compliment.
We often expect a rounder, softer, fuller Cabernet in this country, and that’s okay. However, Scotsdale provides a different perspective: fleshy but firm, concentrated but also fine-boned.
There’s a power of blackcurrant intensity to this wine and a delight to be had in relishing its varietal energy with briar, bay leaf, earth, matched quietly with an oak presence. A lifted aromatic edge helps push the flavours long.
Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.
