2018 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Prelude Vineyards Margaret River 750 ml

From the winery that James Suckling called “the Mouton Rothschild of Australia,” the 2018 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Prelude Vineyards offers an unprecedented amount of power and Bordelais-style grace. Crafted from younger vines and treated with less oak than Leeuwin’s signature Art Series, it boasts a staggering 96-point score from Aussie authority Halliday Wine Companion.

"In case you missed it,” begins that stellar review, “'18 may be the greatest Cabernet and Chardonnay vintage in living memory in Margaret River. So goes it for the Prelude: sheer density of fruit and rippling length of flavour are the calling cards."

The Leeuwin team wrings astounding complexity from the Cabernet and Merlot grapes for this bottle. The nose treats you to a salvo of dark cherry, crushed blackberry, ground cardamom, violets, leather, cocoa, and a beautifully evolving herbal bouquet touched with rosemary, juniper, and bay leaf. On the full-bodied palate, rugged, woodsy overtones are softened with dark fruit and framed by ripe, elegant tannins for an absolutely classic Margaret River expression.

Warmer than Bordeaux but cooler than Napa Valley, the Margaret River region of Western Australia is practically tailor-made for growing Cabernet. Leeuwin founders Denis and Tricia Horgan started something special when they planted their first vines in the early 1970s. In 1973, they met American wine legend Robert Mondavi, who told the couple that they had terroir capable of producing world-class wines. With Mondavi’s guidance, Leeuwin quickly became the benchmark for excellence in the country.

Like almost no year before it, the 2018 vintage fulfills the promise that Denis, Tricia, and Mondavi first detected in this blessed patch of winegrowing nirvana. Powerful, classically structured, and intense, this is a world-class Cabernet.