2014 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Australia 750 ml

Our Blind Tasting Discovery of 2018

We were at Lake Tahoe, in a cool, hushed conference room where the only sound was the occasional clink of Riedel glassware. We were sharing table space with 100 sommeliers and buyers from New York, Chicago, and L.A. blind tasting twenty Cabernets in as many minutes. That’s how we discovered this vintage of the 2nd-generation, family-owned Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a 98-point superstar that (quite literally) bested bottles from California, Washington, France, and South Africa last August.

Putting Australian Cab up against top-flight Bordeaux and Napa stalwarts is a risky move, but the Aussies have never been afraid to do things a little differently, and with more than enough flair. Once revealed, we texted an order from the conference room at Squaw Valley—undeterred by the 9-month wait for these bottles to arrive.

At $50, this stands up to Cabernets twice and three times the price, and is available today at the best price in the nation on four-bottle purchases. We’re already piling this in our cellars for when cold weather strikes, and suggest you do the same—we’ve got 40 cases to share.  

The leading wine Australian critic James Halliday hailed this 2014 Voyager for its “elegant medium-bodied palate, where juicy fruit, oak and tannins are fused seamlessly together.”

After the ink dried on Halliday’s review, Voyager Estate landed on Wine & Spirits Magazine’s Top 100 Wineries of 2018, because in addition to its class and sheer deliciousness, the 2014 Voyager is also a shocking value—and proudly goes toe-to-toe with the other Australian wines featured in the Top 100, including Grosset, Leeuwin, Giant Steps, and D’Arenberg. Combined, their reviews promptly sent half the world’s sommeliers knocking on Voyager’s Margaret River door. Luckily, we already had our allocation locked in.

The Wright family, owners of Voyager Estate, have farmed the area around Margaret River for nearly 150 years, but it wasn’t until 1991 that the late Michael Wright found an exquisite vineyard—the oldest vines dating to 1978—and set to work developing the now-renowned estate. Today, Michael’s daughter Alex is carrying forward her father’s legacy with the same attention to detail both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Her meticulousness is echoed by veteran viticulturist and winemaker Steve James, who has shifted the estate toward organic practices in the vineyard, allowing the cool-climate site, planted on the oldest geology in Australia, to speak for itself.

The 2014 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon may be the best way to hear what Margaret River has to say. The result is at once powerful and intense, while light on its feet; juicy and deep fruited yet savory, with a beautiful mineral cut. Standing shoulder to shoulder with elite Cabernets from neighboring Leeuwin, Cullen, and Vasse Felix, and outpacing them all when it comes to value, the 2014 Voyager Estate Cabernet is simply an outstanding choice for your cellar.

James Halliday rounded out his 98-point review by praising the 2014’s combination of fruit, oak, and tannins, adding “The difficulty will be keeping your hands off it.” We’ll leave the drinking window up to you, but there are less than 40 cases of Voyager’s 40th anniversary red to go around.