2019 Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
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The 2019 Diana Madeline hails from a modest, cool, vintage, which produced wines across the board steeped in detail, perfume and nuance. Incidentally, 2019 was the first vintage of the Diana Madeline to include the amphora in the fermentation vessels (purchased in 2015), and one has to wonder whether or not this contributes to the poise of the wine. Aromas of licorice, blueberry, cassis and leather, raw cocoa, asphalt, aniseed and fennel seeds appear on the nose. In the mouth, the wine is shaped by ferruginous tannins, and chalk and grip abound. It's a long wine that presents a gracious view of this lovely vintage. The blend this vintage is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
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Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot. Really deep crimson! So suave and sophisticated! Still very youthful but clearly very ambitious and this should last a very long time. Dry and savoury with the nose just starting to evolve. Too tannic to open yet but with very honest ingredients. (JR)
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot. From the Cullen vineyard, planted in 1971, the Cabernet Sauvignon comprises 11.33 ha, while the Merlot was planted in 1976 and covers 1.76 ha. Scott Henry trellis. Vanya Cullen believes that the conversion to biodynamic viticulture has produced better fruit. Frost reduced the yields. Harvest began on 20 March and finished on 3 April. Yields were lower than 2018. H and-picked fruit. Each variety was fermented separately with indigenous yeasts. Fermentation time ranged from 10 to 29 days before the wine was gently basket-pressed to barrel. It matured for 15 months in French oak, of which 45% was new, in a mixture of 'biodynamic' barriques and puncheons. Screwcap. TA 5.5 g/l, pH 3.69. Carbon neutral, certified biodynamic, certified organic, sustainable, vegetarian, vegan. Deep dark red. Elegant aroma which is marked by cassis and a light leafiness and a suggestion of Cabernet Franc's characteristic blackcurrant-leaf quality. Dry, refined tannins giving a dry mineral character. Plush and full in the mouth, the mineral character as much in the tannins as in flavour. ‘Toast to mum’, says Vanya Cullen. Smoky but not reductive. Layers of paper-fine tannins. Elegant. Opens up to a slight note of curry leaf. Or is it tobacco, or both? Very, very dry without being drying. Ultimate in refinement. (JH)