2019 The Messenger Cabernet Sauvignon 614 Amadio Vineyard Block 1A Adelaide Hills 750 ml

The neighbors scoffed. “You can’t plant Cabernet there,” they told the Amadio family. “Too cold.”

The naysayers were beyond wrong. Today, the Kersbrook Vineyard, which the Amadios planted in the Adelaide Hills in 1997, is a prime source for Penfolds’ iconic $50+ Bin Series Cabernets.

The Amadios knew their property’s north-facing, slightly warmer plots were a Cabernet paradise, and thanks to their trailblazing spirit, we’re lucky to present the 2019 The Messenger Cabernet Sauvignon 614 from the Kersbrook Vineyard.

The Messenger’s winemaker, Rob McDonald, grew up in Adelaide Hills and cofounded the legendary Old Bridge Cellars—an import business for some of Australia’s most revered estates—garnering special mention from Robert Parker himself.

Wine Access members loved his 2018 bottling, with one five-star review saying, “This is one amazing wine. Stacks up with any Napa powerhouse.” Another wrote, “We have purchased several Australian Cabs over the years, and I would rate this one as one of the best.” 

For this version of The Messenger, McDonald knew he had to have the Amadios’ Block 1A. “This is the 1997 Cabernet block that everyone knows about, but no one talks about,” he said about the site, which is planted to an early-ripening Cabernet clone that yields graped with intensity and tight-knit tannins. The unconventional addition of 5% Sagrantino, a deeply pigmented grape from Umbria in central Italy, lends inky color and a further boost to the tannins.

McDonald’s team picked at night, when the grapes’ acidity is most vibrant, from several mini-lots and then showed off his blending prowess. After 18–24 months in new and used French oak, this Cabernet is integrated, complex, and seamless.