Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

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Wynns’ flagship Cabernet has risen to iconic status since its first release in 1982. Produced only in the best vintages and sourced from the top one percent of estate Cabernet fruit, the 2022 vintage clearly meets the mark. It’s a wine of both elegance and power, expressed through a classic Coonawarra lens. The nose opens with dusty cedar, forest mulch and old leather, woven through sweet-scented mulberry, dark cherry and blackcurrant juice. Beneath that lies a cool undercurrent of eucalyptus and rubbed mint. With air, further detail unfolds: graphite, black liquorice, tobacco leaf and dark earth, as the elegant blackcurrant fruit becomes more integrated and resolved. The palate plays a beautiful tension between lift and structure. Blackcurrant, mulberry and plum glide through the mouth with grace, supported by cedar, mocha, mint, dark chocolate and graphite. Tannins are firm and architectural, giving shape and persistence. What’s most striking is the fruit’s elegance – it’s lifted and buoyant, never heavy or ponderous. Still compact in its youth, this will unfold gracefully over decades in the cellar.

Tom Kline
Wine Critic at Winepilot

Tom Kline is a wine writer, reviewer, presenter, and educator based in Victoria, Australia. He is the Australian correspondent for the internationally respected publications Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy and Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, where he highlights the top tier of Australian wine for a global audience. Tom also writes for leading outlets including Decanter (UK), Wine Spectator (US), and Halliday Magazine, among others. An experienced wine show judge and WSET educator, he has authored several consumer-focused wine courses aimed at making wine more accessible and engaging. In 2023, Tom was awarded Best Published Feature Article or Wine Column at the prestigious Wine Communicator Awards, presented by Wine Communicators of Australia.

Wine tasting and writing
Pilot
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