Reynella Basket Press Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Stuart McCloskey March 2025 “The back labels states, ‘this wine is crafted to enjoy now or reward careful cellaring for the next ten years.’ Well, we’re almost at the ten-year mark, and this has at least another decade or two left. For me, this is only starting to be approachable. At the first sniff - you sense the quality, and you sense the luxurious experience that awaits. The bouquet is densely packed and needs time to develop. Ensure you decant for at least one hour, and then the prettiness flows to the tune of sweet, blue and black fruits, violet, pronounced sea salt, clove, dried mint, eucalyptus, dried, Mediterranean herbs, liquorice along with new, saddle leather and nori. There is immediate pleasure both from flavour and palate feel. This is joyous and struts confidently (as it should). The fruit is hand selected (from the best parcels), gently basket pressed and matured in French oak for 14-months. No expense spared which was Accolade’s mantra. The fruit and tannins unfold in powerful layers – generosity is presented along with serious consideration. Blackberry, mulberry, cassis and dark chocolate meld beautifully with the savouriness of bay, black olive, nori, dried herbs, lead pencil, and bags of minerality. This remains powerful however, a decade has tamed the concentration. Epic length that goes on for minutes… Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware. PS. the bottle weighs a ton!"

Wine Pilot, May 2024 “McLaren Vale Cabernet from a great vintage. This might not offer the immediate and classical varietal characters one expects from Cabernet, but it does provide compelling evidence that warm climate Cab, in a top year, can be a superb drink. The wine spent time in the best French oak available with the colour still an opaque purple, suggesting that this is a younger wine than it is. That time in bottle has allowed for development, as gradual as it is, but also the emergence of complexity. We have notes of tobacco leaves, black fruits, a hint of campfire and warm earth. This falls into the savoury end of the spectrum. Plenty of grip here, firm tannins leading to an even firmer finish. A wine with balance and length, and excellent persistence. McLaren Vale Cab from a top year with some maturity. Excellent stuff and will drink well for at least the next six to eight years.”