2003 Clarendon Hills Brookman Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Bratasiuk’s reputation has largely been built on the exceptional quality of his Syrah and Grenache wines. The Cabernets have been in the shadow of these great wines, and for years they have been dramatically underpriced. However, with the 2003 vintage, there is a determined effort to reach new heights with Cabernet. Roman has the determination to reach even greater heights with each vintage – a kind of restless quality that is found amongst artists, more so than winemakers. The vines for the Brookman vineyard were planted in 1940, and consist of the ‘old Reynella clone’ which was originally sourced from Chateau Lafite cuttings brought to Australia in the 1840’s. The new oak component has been cranked up for the Cabernet wines with ⅔ new French Allier and Nevers oak and ⅓ one year old. The wine has certainly been able to handle this amount of oak – Bratasiuk maintaining that “good Cabernet should be beaten with a stick – with the right kind of barrels necessary to tame the monster”.
This is an outstanding wine that needs plenty of time to evolve. The structure of this wine is superior to that of the previous vintage, however it needs plenty of time to develop its full potential. The marks given to this wine reflect its character at the time of tasting and we have no doubt that with a few years cellaring, the score will be perfect.
Totally opaque black purple colour. Perfumed, classic Cabernet nose of violets, blackcurrant and cedar. The palate remains to unfold, however flavours of violet infusions, concentrate of blackcurrant, cedar and white pepper emerge. The tannins are fine grained, dry but perfectly balanced. The aftertaste is exceptional with very long blackcurrant, spice and white pepper emerging.
Cellar 15-20 years (2019-2024)
Alc/Vol: 14.6%
RATING: 98/100VALUE: XXXXX/5