Leconfield The Sydney Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

A wine named in honour of Leconfield founder, Sydney Hamilton. It does the man justice. Fermentation in new French oak and then seven months maturation in aged French oak hogsheads brings together a complex and interesting wine, interesting in the sense that the oak has worked beautifully with the fruit bringing a potent mix of spice and smoky, cocoa features. It has the scent of the land, a wild Australian bush character in tandem with bramble and black fruits. It makes for a joyous, expressive taste. For such an abundant wine in scent and flavour, it is remarkably fine featured and trim thanks to even-handed tannins. Leafy, fine herbs – thyme, oregano – join black fruits, plum, nutmeg spice, coffee grounds and chocolate, filling the mouth and the senses. An arresting Coonawarra Cabernet that deserves a little more time in the cellar.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

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.

Wine writer and critic