Yalumba The Menzies Coonawarra 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon

"unfulfilled promise"

this wine was dedicated to Sir Robert Menzies after he reviewed a very early vintage of Yalumba Galway Shiraz (Hermitage in those days) as the best wine he had ever drunk.

The label design was promising. However it stopped short from delivering the promise. The wine definitely had elegance and length of flavour as promised on the back label, but it was thin, a touch green and stalky, tasting of unripe fruit. There was distinctive dust and nutmeg from the oak and eventually it opened to reveal flavours of dried fruit, camphor, eucalyptus, and finished with the intensity that you'd expect from a Coonawarra wine at this price tag. Yet it still left us disappointed. We expected more from 1996, which was a great year for Coonawarra, especially as it is a benchmark region for Cabernet in Australia. We assume the fruit was picked before optimal ripeness prior to maturing in oak for 24 months.

We paid around AUD 35.00 for this in around 2000. Current vintage of the Menzies 2005 is available for around AUD47.00. Although this one was a fizzer, previous vintages have been superb. We definitely wouldn't shy away from its subsequent vintages and will post the reviews as we came to taste them. For those of you looking for a bargain, the Galway Shiraz is currently available at around AUD14.00 (2005 vintage)