2024 Wantirna Estate Amelia Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

98 pts
The flagship Bordeaux blend from one of the Yarra's founding vineyards, planted in 1963. Only 6 bottles.

Price:
Sale price$112.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Wantirna Estate was one of the vineyards that kick-started the modern Yarra Valley, planted by Reg and Tina Egan back in 1963 when hardly anyone was growing grapes there. Their daughter Maryann Egan makes the wines now, and the Amelia is the estate's flagship Bordeaux-style blend, built on those original vines.

The 2024 is 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 44% Merlot and Cabernet Franc, rounded out with Petit Verdot from a 1989 block that adds backbone and natural acidity. The old vines are dry-grown, so their roots dig deep into the clay for water. Maryann calls 2024 a wonderful season with real flavour concentration, though it gave smaller quantities than usual.

It's fragrant and lifted, with blackcurrant, dark raspberry and violets, then cedar, pencil shavings and a touch of tobacco. Medium-bodied but concentrated, with those long, fine tannins the 60-year-old vines are known for and a bright finish.

Classic Yarra Cabernet blend from one of the valley's founding vineyards, in a very strong year. We only have 6 bottles this time, so don't hang about.

98 points
"This soars effortlessly from the glass... A simply superb wine."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points
"Gets you in straight away... Textbook Yarra Cabernets. Wonderful."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

98 points - "47/44/9% cabernet sauvignon/merlot and cabernet franc field blend/petit verdot. A gorgeous, bright, crimson purple. This soars effortlessly from the glass with its aromas of pure blackcurrant, dark raspberry and gentle cedar and floral notes. The more you swirl this, the more perfumed it becomes! Medium bodied, this is just as fragrant on the palate, which is simultaneously concentrated, structured, elegant and very long. A simply superb wine." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "Gets you in straight away. It has a violet and rose perfume, redcurrant and blackcurrant, pencil and cedar, and a little spice. Medium-bodied, crispness and precision, but also a good amount of red and black fruit flavour and concentration, some tobacco and pencil savouriness, light grainy tannin grip with a bright finish of excellent length. Textbook Yarra Cabernets. Wonderful." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Vineyard
A large proportion of the grapes for this wine come from the original 1963 plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines. The remainder is from the more recently planted—1989—Petit Verdot. Whilst the proportions differ every year, depending on fruit set and cropping levels, roughly speaking, the breakdown is as follows: 65% Cabernet sauvignon, 30% Cabernet franc and Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. The addition of Petit Verdot grapes in the 1990s gave the wine a backbone of tannin and natural acidity. With its long growing season, Petit Verdot grapes are the last to be harvested, usually in mid-April.

The 2024 Wine
This year’s blend is a classic from this label. The wonderful 2024 season shines through, showcasing the year’s incredible flavour concentration. A wonderful, complex mix of all the berries, generous weight and those lovely long tannins that we get from the grapes of the 60-year-old vines. 2024 produced smaller quantities than usual for this wine. – Maryann Egan

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type Red
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Country Australia
Region Yarra Valley
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
Critic Score 98
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Wantirna Estate

Wantirna Estate is a family affair, founded in 1963 by Reg and Bertina Egan.

This bucolic old-world-inspired vineyard is located not far from Melbourne town centre; now surrounded by suburbia, the proverbial rose amongst the thorns.

Now run primarily by Reg and Bertina's daughter Maryann, the estate produces a small premium range of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and classic medium-bodied Bordeaux blends that are elegant, classic and exceptional options for the cellar.

Reg describes their vineyard as a "never-ending world of change and enchantment".

Reg & Maryann Egan Wantirna Estate

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