Mature brick hue. Drunk over many hours tonight this wine offers a melange of deep-set, savoury, aged Cabernet aromas including sandalwood, weedy blackcurrants, aged tobacco leaf, old leather, leafy greens, damp earth, minerals (iron) with just a hint of miso and blood as a top note. As the wine passes through the mouth an initial burst of sweet curranty fruit is besieged by more of these complex savoury characters found in the bouquet. There’s extract a’plenty here on a medium frame with lashings of malty oak, very sedate fine-grained tannins, low acidity and an elegant, seductive finish of some considerable duration. Now fully mature, there is no reason to hold this terrific wine any longer. I’ve drunk more than a dozen and a half of these over many years and this particular bottle looks as good as anything I’ve tried previously. Drink now or over the next year or two. 92 points  13% A/V

St Huberts winery was established in Victoria’s Yarra Valley in 1862 by Swiss settler, Hubert De Castella and within two decades, St. Huberts was regarded as one of the finest wineries in Australia, winning many international wine show awards along the way. Lack of demand for fine table wine through the early part of new century and, eventually, downward economic pressures saw this once great wine region mostly revert back to dairy farming and by 1912 the property had ceased all wine production. In 1966, a resurgence in demand for white and red table wine saw the Cester family re-establish a vineyard and winery of the same name in a similar location to the original site. Subsequently, several changes of ownership have occured, with the giant Foster’s group acquiring possession of this brand after a successful takeover bid for another leading corporate raider of the time, Mildara Blass. Since its reincarnation, some great Cabernet, Chardonnay and the occasional excellent Pinot Noir have been made here. I have extremely fond memories of St Huberts Cabernet’s including an exceptional 1977 and very good to outstanding examples from 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991 and now I’m just onto the remainder of my 1992’s! All the current release St Hubert wines are competitively priced but, alas, I have no recent tasting experience. One of Australia’s foremost wine critics, Jeremy Oliver certainly rates all recent vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon very well indeed. The track record of this historic winery is certainly good enough to suggest that great things can be done here. The 1992 reviewed below is a remarkably good Yarra Valley Cabernet, worthy of its outstanding rating and will last for another decade if well stored.

Still a saturated ruby red with little bricking in the edge. Initial burst of leafy greens, weeds, briar, cedar, herbs and red capsicum gradually replaced and enhanced with beautiful ripe blackcurrants. What a transition! Eerily reminiscent of a top class Bordeaux for a while, although this penetrating fruit sweetness eventually appears “new worldish”. Palate is wonderfully fresh, of medium body displaying exemplary fruit and oak integration, surprisingly lively acidity, fine lacy tannins and an excellent finish. 92 points 13.3% A/V and sealed with a good quality cork.

13% A/V Screwcap

Made at Yering Station in Victoria’s Yarra Valley by that winery’s very talented winemaker, Tom Carson, this Outstanding Chardonnay displays a still very youthful bright straw/green colour. The bouquet harbours a wealth of nuance - combining creamy ripe white peach and fig fruit with complex worked barrel characters of meal, grilled nuts, struck match and char. In the mouth the wine exhibits a lovely balance of similarly etched fruit and oak with a creamy mouthfeel, beautifully counterbalanced by natural minerally acidity and a crunchy, lingering aftertaste. This fine wine delivers pure, somewhat unevolved, hedonistic pleasure and will last for several years if stored in a dark, cool place. At $35, this wine deserves a rating of 92 points and the remainder of the six pack it came from, will soon adorn a special little possie in my cellar.

Two most excellent wines opened with a smoked Tasmanian salmon medley and Peking duck last night with me mate, Ezza.

The McWilliams really sang with attractive oily aromas and flavours of lemon butter, dried herbs, toast, honey and nuts. Everything in symmetry with nice weight in the mouth, still enough acidity for a crisp, clean, lengthy finish. 91 points. Probably no use holding these much longer judging from the bright but slightly burnished gold colour and maturity shown. Held up well over a couple of hours in the glass. It went quite well with the salmon, too.

The St. Hubert’s “Barrel Select” must be some sort of reserve, I’d guess. Wow, did this little cracker of a “claret” reveal some eerie similarities to a very fine left bank Bordeaux. Classical aromas and flavours of cedar, freshly turned earth, weedy blackcurrants, herbs, sous bois and perfectly-judged French oak gave little hint of its’ Aussie origins. Perhaps the only criticism I can muster was a slight lack of structural complexity found in the very best examples of the French. Otherwise exemplary in terms of a very youthful, deep colour, the alluring well-honed sweet/sour aromatics and the very elegant medium-bodied palate that oozed class, poise and remarkable persistence. A really Outstanding bottle and would make a great “options” wine for anybody who’s got some in the cellar. 91 points for this one, too. This wine should drink well for at least another 5 years.

12.5% A/V. Cork closure. Superb level and virtually no seepage up the cork.

A brilliant offering, equivalent to a top Second Growth from a very good year. A beautiful crimson/garnet colour holding right to the edge. Wonderfully pure, savoury nose of superripe currants, blackberries, a subtle leafiness, cedary oak and a hint of licorice and spice box. Top shelf. The palate delivers an identical level of excellence - silky mouthfeel, perfect weight and a fantastic equilibrium difficult to emulate. Copious quantities of succulent fruit (aka the bouquet) mesh, seamlessly, with terrific fresh, bright acids and a gorgeous, melting fine tannin regime to produce a complete package. Finishes with such aplomb, I had to pinch myself and check that this was, in fact, from the Yarra Valley! Outstanding verging on Exceptional. What a wine! Although at the zenith, I can’t see similarly kept bottles falling over in a hurry. Wow! 94 points