2019 First Drop - Cabernet Sauvignon Mother's Ruin

The 2019 Mother's Ruin Cabernet Sauvignon hails from McLaren Vale and is a great value (i.e., under $30AUD) Cabernet. The label helps (although we all know that it shouldn't), and depicts a 1750 extract of Gin Lane, by painter William Hogarth. It is grotesque and satirical, although skewed heavily to the black side of the scale—the painting depicts the debauchery and riotous nature of drinking cheap gin in profusion, as was done in London around this time. I've never understood what the connection to McLaren Vale Cabernet could possibly be, but it's an engaging piece of artistic commentary nonetheless. The wine is juicy and varietal, with cassis and licorice and fennel. Layers of milk chocolate tannins and graphite shape the wine. Smart.