Kilikanoon Tregea Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

The comments on the Block’s Road Cabernet, pertaining to the glories of Clare Cabernet, apply three times over here. This is a serious Cabernet which can sit comfortably with the nation’s top examples. The small parcels of grapes see open fermenters and
are then basket pressed to a range of French oak barrels, some new and some seasoned, for 18 months. It is bottled without filtering or fining. Maroon in colour, this is richly flavoured with notes of chocolate, cassis and blackberries. Cigar box, mulberries and tobacco leaf notes, with a hint of the traditional Cab herbaceousness, but it is simply there as just one more factor contributing to the complexity. There is exceptional oak integration too and impressive length. The palate is juicy, ripe and supple with bright acidity and finishes with the silkiest of tannins. A really exciting Cab. Terrific now, but there is real potential here. Who knows just how good it could be in a decade.