95pts Wine Spectator

The 2018 The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon is luscious and velvety in the mouth, with a lustrous core of shimmering purple Cabernet fruit. The tannins are typical of Coonawarra in that they are firm, yet they are seamlessly inlaid into the fruit, which feels as if it spills over the edge of the glass. Seductive but rigid, it will have a long life in front of it, make no mistake. You get cassis, resin, licorice, raspberry, gravel/iodine, bay leaf, dark chocolate, after dinner mints (the only brand to be had is the After Eight mints, of course), and notions of cedar spice. Brilliant. 14% alcohol, sealed under cork.

95pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2018 The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon is luscious and velvety in the mouth, with a lustrous core of shimmering purple Cabernet fruit. The tannins are typical of Coonawarra in that they are firm, yet they are seamlessly inlaid into the fruit, which feels as if it spills over the edge of the glass. Seductive but rigid, it will have a long life in front of it, make no mistake. You get cassis, resin, licorice, raspberry, gravel/iodine, bay leaf, dark chocolate, after dinner mints (the only brand to be had is the After Eight mints, of course), and notions of cedar spice. Brilliant. 14% alcohol, sealed under cork.

95pts Australian Wine Companion

Another beautiful release. Mint, mulberry and blackcurrant flavours drift with tobacco and forest herbs. It's a cooling cabernet but a ripe one, fluid and refreshing but firm and solid. This wine needs to be stashed in a cool, dark place for at least a handful of years to start showing its best.

95pts Huon Hooke

The Menzies is showing great power and complexity. Deep crimson with a plum hue. Aromas of fresh rosemary, mulberry, ozone, violets and exotic spices. Take a sip and you will feel the poise and tension for which great Cabernet is renowned. A wine of great complexity with flavours of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate and mulberries, wrapped in divine tannins and a lovely sweet, dark fruit finish. With decanting in its youth it is enjoyable as an elegant full-bodied red wine.

93pts James Suckling

Aromas of blackberries and cassis with dried lavender, violets, notes of walnuts and spices. Full-bodied, firm and structured with bright and fresh black and blue fruit character, highlighted with a steady acidity and mineral backbone. Long and even. Drink or hold.

93pts Vinous

The refined 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Yalumba The Menzies is intriguing thanks to its sage and thyme layers perfectly matched to an effortless core of blackcurrant, with subtle oak sitting in reserve. Those herbal elements continue through the palate, supported by a firm backbone of sinewy tannins to support a long, youthful and vibrant finish. This is far from ready and needs time to blossom.

91pts Wine Enthusiast - Cellar Selection

Still quite young, ripe and oaky at first pour, then expanding with aeration, Menzies offers dense aromas of black cherry jam, plum preserves, black pepper, bay leaf atop a layer of toasty sweet oak. The palate is tightly wound in drying, granular tannins. Heightened acidity and tangy red and black fruit make for a structure that should take this another decade at least.

Tasting Notes

Deep crimson with a plum hue. Aromas of fresh rosemary, mulberry, ozone, violets and exotic spices. Take a sip and you will feel the poise and tension for which great Cabernet is renowned. A wine of great complexity with flavors of blackcurrant, bitter chocolate and mulberries, wrapped in divine tannins and a lovely sweet, dark fruit finish. With decanting in its youth it is enjoyable as an elegant full-bodied red wine.

Wonderful with a chargrilled rib eye on the bone or porcini mushroom, thyme and quinoa risotto.