2021 John Duval Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Compono Barossa 750 ml

Great Cabernet comes from great vineyards—and no one in Australia knows the Barossa’s great sites like John Duval.

For nearly two decades, the Aussie native was the guiding hand behind Penfolds Grange—without a doubt one of the greatest wines in the world—and in his time there he acquired something money can’t buy. He gained an intimate knowledge of Australia’s microclimates and soils, and he has cultivated the relationships to get his hands on exactly what he wants.

So when he decided to produce a Cabernet under his own label, it would have to come from a magical terroir—and he found one in the Hutton Vale Farm in Barossa’s Eden Valley, which has been in the Angas family for seven generations. Set between Henschke’s Hill of Grace ($800) and Mt. Edelstone ($250) vineyards, it’s as prized a patch of dirt as you’ll find in Australia.

Duval is a legend. During the Australia native’s nearly 30 years at Penfolds—17 of which he spent as head winemaker—he crafted Grange, which is widely regarded as Australia’s greatest First-Growth Shiraz and one of the planet’s top expressions of the grape. In 2003, he left Penfolds to focus on his own small-production wines, and he didn’t miss a beat. But while he made top-notch Shiraz and Grenache, one wine grape was always hovering in the distance: Cabernet.

That’s because Cabernet Sauvignon and the Barossa Valley can have a delicate relationship: Cab doesn’t always do well with the blistering heat and parched soils of the area during midsummer. It likes plenty of warmth, but no extremes—so Duval took his time until he found the right sites. And now that he has, he’s off to the races.