Payne’s Rise Cabernet Sauvignon 2024

Twenty-five years of Cabernet for Payne’s Rise, and as ever, it is glorious in its typicity. Yes, you heard me: Yarra Valley Cabernet has it, like Bordeaux, like Tuscany, like Napa, like Margaret River. There’s a cool mint-chocolate vibe, with capsicum, spearmint and blackcurrant, almost in liquid form, alongside blackberries, red liquorice and macerated violets. Herbal and savoury notes of graphite and turned earth, with a persistent thread of spice, carry through onto the palate, where the fruit feels more restrained than on the nose. The tannins are slowly building, ever-present and granular. The wine stops a little abruptly in its attempt to travel long distance, leaving the question of whether it is simply too early in its life, or whether this is the shape it is built for.