2025 Joshua Cooper Dash Farms Cabernet Sauvignon

93 pts
Fresh, mountain-grown Cabernet from Joshua Cooper's late-ripening Mt Alexander site. Just 118 dozen made.

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Sale price$59.00
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In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Joshua Cooper has become one of the most talked-about Cabernet makers in the country, and Dash Farms is one of his most consistently excellent expressions. It's mountain Cabernet from central Victoria, cool and fresh, and a long way from the big, oaky style many people still expect from the grape.

The vineyard was planted in 1999 at over 450m on the southern granite slopes of Mt Alexander (Leanganook), looking back towards Mt Macedon. It's a seriously late-ripening site, and in 2025 the fruit wasn't picked until late April. Josh hand-sorted it, part foot-crushed the destemmed berries and let them ferment naturally in open vats for three weeks, then aged the wine for 12 months in 20% new Stockinger 300L barrels and seasoned Bordeaux barriques.

Expect pretty classic violets, cassis and blue fruit with a savoury streak of wild herbs and graphite. It's fuller than you might guess but stays bright and juicy, with fine, powdery tannins and only a light touch of oak. Give it a decant and pour it with a slow-roasted lamb shoulder, or tuck a few away for the medium term.

Only 118 dozen made. Cool-climate Cabernet with real energy and drinkability, from a winemaker who's well and truly hitting his stride.

93 points
"The rise and rise of cabernet profile under the care of Joshua Cooper is a force...A wine of glorious drinkability."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

93 points - "The rise and rise of cabernet profile under the care of Joshua Cooper is a force. An overlay of cool. And history. And respect. A thing. This is succulent, refreshing, blue fruited, alpine herb laced, super cool, and yet curiously on the cusp of vibrant ripeness, and quasi-nouveau in its feel all at once. Phew! More full than expected and yet trimmed with the slip of glossy tannin is the deal. The suction of pumice stone grip gently finishing things a treat. A wine of glorious drinkability." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

Tasting Note
Deep, inky garnet. This vintage shows incredibly depth and vibrancy, with lavender, pen ink, violet and creamy cassis fruit filling the nose and a savoury, wild herb and graphite complexity in the background.

Medium to full bodied, but fully flavoured and packed with fine fruit tannin, with just a seasoning of oak. Again, creamy cassis, red cherry and raspberry flood the mouth, with graphite and subtle crushed ivy lend intrigue, finishing powdery and dry.

Decant well and enjoy the youthful vibrancy or cellar into the medium term for additional complexity.

Vineyard
Planted 1999, Dash Farms sits perched at over 450m ASL on the Southern granitic slopes of Mt. Alexander (Leanganook) looking back towards Mt Macedon and the Macedon Ranges. Like Ray-Monde, it sits just outside the Macedon Ranges GI. An extremely late ripening site for Cabernet Sauvignon, the fruit was harvested in late April.

Winemaking
Hand-harvested with strict fruit sorting in the vineyard, bunches were then 100% de-stemmed and partially foot crushed before loading into open fermenters where they remained for three weeks. The must was allowed to soak until natural fermentation commenced and then extracted with a combination of pumping over, delestage and pigeage before basket pressing. Elevage took place in a combination of new Stockinger 300L (20%) and seasoned thin staved Bordeaux coopered barriques for 12 months, before four months in stainless steel after assemblage. The mountainside nature of Dash Farm provides incredible freshness to the wine.

Technical Details
Alcohol: 13.5%
Oak: 12 months in new Stockinger 300L (20%) and seasoned Bordeaux barriques
Stainless steel: four months after assemblage
Production: 118 dozen
Cellaring: medium term

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Country Australia
Region Central Victoria
Australian State VIC
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Critic Score 93
Alcohol 14%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure DIAM Cork

Joshua Cooper

Joshua Cooper is the son of Nelly and Allan Cooper, the founders of the acclaimed Cobaw Ridge winery in the Macedon Ranges.

Born and raised on the top-tier cool climate wines of his family, Josh's wines have a delicacy and unforced feel to them. As you might imagine, growing up in the Macedon Ranges, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are two varieties he particularly excels with, as too is his great love, which is Cabernet. He sources his fruit from a series of growers across central Victoria who farm with a like-minded philosophy of organic farming and sustainability, with plans to plant his own vineyard in Macedon in the future.

Josh makes only a small amount of each wine and they are in high demand from those who want to get in early on the next generation of Cooper. He is undoubtedly one of the country's most exciting and acclaimed young winemakers, being named James Halliday's Best New Winery for 2024 as well as the winner of Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine’s Young Winemaker of the Year 2020.

Winemaker Josh Cooper - Macedon Ranges, VIC Joshua Cooper

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