Grant Burge Nebu Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2018

Stuart McCloskey, February 2025 "Heavenly bouquet that ticks every, single box for me…  The density and array of aromatics is astonishing – I am not sure whether this is an Aussie wine, a beauty from the Rhône or Burgundy. Kaleidoscopic, aromatic nirvana… I must also comment on the colour, which is akin to falling into a black hole. Back to the bouquet which permeates with blackcurrant compote, cassis, liquorice, sea kelp (there’s a deep ozone influence which is gorgeous), salted / brined black olives, fresh bay leaf, a splash of woodsmoke, cold steel, lead pencil, and the Burgundian influence of a damp forest floor (freshly turned earth). Fresh peppermint and cigar box with more air (Eucalyptus and mushroom / Kombu broth post 30-minutes in the glass). Utterly exquisite, and it keeps getting better! The palate does not disappoint either. This is a feast for all the senses. The texture is silken, and the tannins offer the gentlest of hugs. The 2018 Nebu provides an insight into poise, refinement, working with exemplary fruit, freshness and above all, an overwhelming sense of purity. A compelling, ethereal wine that is comfortably worth its full RRP of £50+ per bottle. The fruits are the blackest of black, (plums, damson, blackcurrant and mulberry) – they are rich, succulent, and wrapped in a sheath of salted minerality. Hermitage-esque qualities come into play with hung, red meat, charcuterie, wood smoke – very grown-up. Umami, graphite tinged, and with a faint twang of blood orange. There is absolutely no need to blather on (which is easy to do) as this is a sublime wine. Excruciatingly, good to great. Actually, one of the best Cab / Shiraz I have ever sampled. Served using Zalto Bordeaux stemware. Drink now to 2040+. *I served mine on the ‘cooler’ side of room temperature, which I strongly recommend…" 

57% Cabernet Sauvignon 43% Shiraz 

The 2018 vintage was quite something in Australia. Craig Stansborough, chief winemaker at Grant Burge, an estate founded in 1865, notes that "while the 2018 harvest was very dry, the quality of the fruit was excellent, thanks to the water retention in the soils from rain leading up to vintage." He explains that the dryness of the season meant low disease pressure and that this, coupled with cool night temperatures, allowed the vines to produce fruit with exceptional character and flavour." For Stansborough this is a vintage that unites power and elegance within the one glass."

The 2018 vintage of the Nebu Cabernet Shiraz is only the third release of this wine, with the Cabernet Sauvignon being sourced from the Cameron Vale Vineyard and the Shiraz from the 100-year-old vines of the Filsell vineyard.