Pepper Tree P.J.P. Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Nice touch here. The initials P.J.P represent the three men who worked to produce the fruit on Block 21A, which is Pepper Tree’s best cabernet block in Wrattonbully. Parts of what we now call Wrattonbully were once inside the Coonawarra regional boundary, so it’s no coincidence that this wine shares distinctly Coonawarra-like flavour components. I’m referring specifically to the blackberry, blackcurrant, mulberry fruits and dried herbs and the scent of the Australian bush, in particular. The centrepiece to this complex cabernet is the herbal interaction of thyme, sage, spearmint with the concentrated fruit, gently cedary oak and firm tannin. While it’s entirely approachable now with its smooth ways and enduring length, it’s definitely built for the long run. It is set for release in June, 2022. Winemaker, Gwyn Olsen, keeps a tight lid on Cabernet’s varietal intensity. It’s the equivalent of a vinous iceberg. So much more is to be revealed in time.

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