Whicher Ridge Elevation Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

A couple of interesting points to this wine. While the 2016 Elevation was 100% cabernet, the 2018 is blended with 10% malbec and up to 7% of a younger vintage Elevation cabernet. The reason behind the decision is not known, but there is an immediate change up in comparison to the 2016 with youthful deliciousness and less obvious savouriness on display. The quality and power of the cabernet (and malbec) fruit takes centre stage.

Dense and well-built in tannins, the 2018 sings in black fruits, dark chocolate, Damson plums and a gentle leafiness. The wine matured for two years in a mix of new (around 25%) through to five-year-old French oak and this oak component is not insignificant, indeed, there is a fair amount of oak coming through for future use as the wine ages. And it is worth mentioning that like the 2016 Elevation, this wine would love a splash of air or decanting to loosen up before drinking.

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