Leeuwin Estate Prelude Cabernet Sauvignon

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Regular price
$71
Regular price
$79
Sale price
$71
Tax included.

Region : Australia

Product Type : Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintage : 2019
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Leeuwin Estate Prelude Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 comes from the world-famous Leeuwin Estate winery, one of Margaret River’s and Australia’s great Estates. Their Prelude range focuses on the region's benchmark varietals which are made in a more accessible form than the Art Series range whilst still retaining strong varietal character.

The 2018 Prelude Cabernet is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, the exceptional 2018 Margaret River vintage raising the quality bar another notch to deliver what is a rich yet refined rendition of this terrific year. Maturation took place in French oak ranging from new (33%) to 2 years old for a period of 20 months.

A superb example of the Leeuwin Estate style at a fraction of the Art Series price.

Bright, lively and fragrant nose with blackcurrants and dark cherries, combining with higher notes of clove, cummin, black cardamon and star anise. Beneath subtle notes of coffee and cocoa lie in the background. Fine and delicately structured palate featuring boysenberries, blackcurrants and plums. Volume and density through the mid-palate is balanced with a bright mineral acid line, finishing with seamless tannins.

Dark concentrated blackcurrants, blueberries and cherries are lifted by lavender and violets. So many layers and features to nose on offer including black cardamom, cocoa, clove, anise, fennel seed and bay leaf. Highly packaged and complete on the nose. A fine and elegant entry leads to a combination of redcurrants, blueberries and dark cherries. The palate has energy and drive with salivating acid being the foundation. Cedar and cassia notes surround the deep core of fruit, finishing with dusty, graphite-like tannins.

"In case you missed, it, '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. Bargain at the price."
96 points
Erin Larkin, 2022 Halliday Wine Companion
August 2021

"Deep ruby. Spice-accented red and dark berry scents are complemented by succulent herb, tobacco and smoky mineral flourishes. Juicy, focused and appealingly sweet, offering sappy black raspberry and cherry cola flavors that take on licorice and vanilla notes with air. Closes very long and precise, with repeating cherry and herb notes and supple tannins that add frame and gentle grip."
93 points
Josh Raynolds, Vinous, 15 July 2021

"There was a time when Leeuwin’s reds were seen as very much second fiddle to their legendary Chardonnay. Those days are long gone, and their Cabernet now sits alongside the region’s very best. This wine is ripe and intense with notes of blackberries, chocolate, tobacco leaf, cassis, leather, and superbly integrated oak. Seamless, with a very long palate on which the intensity is maintained throughout, it finishes with carefully managed tannins, which are both silky and slightly gravelly at the same time. Will easily impress for the next ten to twenty years."
Ken Gargett, pix.wine
14 April 2022