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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More...
Red

2010 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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9/1/2014 - TriggerFingers Likes this wine: 92 points

I really didn't get a chance to write a lot about this one when drinking it. I will say though, that it is very good! My tasting note at the time says: "Aussie in a good way and super good! Vanilla, oak, and fruit nicely balanced."

One of the best $20 Cabs I can recall. Nicely integrated and very good fruit. Something to definitely seek out!

Last Words: Good QPR on a tasty Cabernet!

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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7/19/2014 - LindsayM Likes this wine: 92 points

Deep dense colour
Nose of red and black fruit ,chocolate and cedar
Excellent balance of fruit and oak
Long finish
Great Margaret river cabernet

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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12/3/2016 - pipetree wrote: NR

No 22, XANADU: a little wet on the nose, a hint of oxidated leaves. A hint of cedar and pepper. Medium sandy coating tannin, medium+ alcohol, medium body, medium+ acidity. Dry. Ripe dark cherry. Some Vanilla in the finish.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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11/12/2014 - ras2006 Likes this wine: 86 points

Good fruit, smooth, easy drinking....

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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2/11/2022 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 90 points

Context is very important. I am making this note on a Friday night, eating steaky, feelin' goooooooood and listening to a mix of lighter jazz, blues and southern rock. The wine I am reviewing is the base level Xanadu Cab, under screw cap (no cork foibles to worry about here, folks), open about 4 hours but un-decanted and poured down my loathsome gullet from a Riedel Cab stem. Ladies and gentlemen, the wine fits the occasion really damned nicely.

I have scored this as on the cusp between excellent and very good on the CT scale. Given that on release it was about AUD/South Pacific Peso $35 one could score it higher as a value for money proposition.

The problem with most wine scoring systems is they don't include a 'pleasure/excitement' element. I drink a lot of wine that merits high scores, but doesn't manage to engage my emotions. Sometimes a technically 'not great' wine can really hit the spot and have you crawling back for more. Other times the wine is perfect but it ain't got no soul.

I have a solution for this, which is to score wine on the CT scale, but also to retain my 'other scale', which is about hedonism and which, for me, is the stiffy scale. This is, of course, a rather unreconstructed scale but I do have Anais Nin, Doris Lessing, Nina Simone, Jancis Robinson, Betty Davis, Patti Smith, Mo'Ju and a few others working on a scale that may engage a slightly broader cross section of the population. At any rate, this wine, although very pleasing, fails to engage much wood. It isn't as though it is like a dip in the cold ocean, or seeing Melania Trump, but it sure as hell isn't like Unskinny Bop.

Does the stiffy rating make this an inferior drink? I don't think so; partly because the wine is clearly very good and more than that, given its price when I bought it. Also, this is a Cabernet and it is made on classical lines. It is made to engage the intellect more than the grinding/hump day parts. If I scored this for intellectual engagement I would score it very well.

I guess the message from this is to evaluate a wine for what it is, not just what it should be and even less for what you would like it to be for the mood you are in, or the preconception you have.

Oh yes, details on the wine itself.

Colour is promising. Not some inky, purple v12 swine. True Claret colour - medium depth, ruby, little evidence of bricking, nice concentration to rim. Promises Cabernet in the classical style, not blackberry jam.

Nose is quite lovely and engaging. Definite woodsy/forest floor elements, some sweet cassis fruit, but no jam. I wouldn't mind a little less alcohol, but I don't think you could call this alcohol hot. You are getting a lot of complexity and class for a mid-price wine.

Palate is intense, with good length and nice balance. The tannins are ripe and whilst they provide some nice balancing firmness on the finish, they are not aggressive or chunky, something that can bedevil Margaret River wines. There is a slight black tea element to the flavour, but this works and doesn't dominate the pleasing cassis, woodsy characters. This could pass for good left bank Bordeaux.

If I opened this on a night when I wasn't feeling slightly 'hyper' I would have really loved this, I suspect. As it is, it reminds me a little of the band Great White - better than its critics say, not quite as good as its fans claim, but damned good in that second rank. Enjoy without shame, or fear.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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1/28/2022 - Gman64 Likes this wine: 90 points

11 years old, ruby garnet slight haze but bright. Browning around edge. Medium on all fronts (intensity, acids, tannins etc. lost its aroma a bit from half hour n decanter. Quality good but not a home run. Moderate Tertiary leather and tobacco supported by black fruit and sour cherry. I note $100 per bottle at outlets, I would class as a $45 to $50 value.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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5/4/2018 - Bizzobazz Likes this wine: 92 points

Perfectly structured , drinking superbly, loaded with black currant and chocolate flavours. Must be close to its peak

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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7/22/2016 - Aheather003 wrote: NR

Bought from vineyard

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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3/2/2015 - TiggerK wrote: 87 points

Did the job for a Cab in the low $20's. Had a hint of class about it, so was satisfied.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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12/3/2016 - spicy1 Likes this wine: 93 points

Another good bottle. All the rich black fruit of the bottle I had in April but the added notes of black olive and oregano in the mid palate. Just an excellent bottle with a very long finish.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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4/25/2016 - spicy1 Likes this wine: 92 points

Had the other bottle back in February and it was almost undrinkable. Long way from Australia and lots of bad things can happen to a bottle of wine. This version has an amazingly long finish that is full of juicy black raspberry and maybe a touch of chocolate.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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2/28/2016 - spicy1 wrote: 83 points

When I opened this last night I almost poured it down the drain. Assumed it was cork taint until I remembered it was a screw cap. Very musty open with the redeeming quality of a rich silky black cherry finish. Tonight the musty open was gone but so was most of the finish. Maybe if I had decanted last night it would have been a decent bottle.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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4/1/2016 - pkatz wrote: 89 points

Not your typical Australian fruit driven wine. Somewhat austere at first but breathing helped. Varietally correct. Good value.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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6/29/2019 - Gdubya Likes this wine: NR

Solid wine. Great QPR. Re-iterate my 93 score, but not bottles left now :-(

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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12/7/2018 - Gdubya Likes this wine: NR

Not as good as previous. Bought from different source. Last one was direct from vineyard

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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10/10/2018 - Gdubya Likes this wine: 93 points

Drinking very well right now. Can’t imagine it getting much better from here and superb for a c33$ wine

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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6/13/2014 - Kentw wrote: 88 points

Classic Margaret River Aussie Cab characteristics. Medium weight, mixed red and black fruits. Lots of spice / acidity on the finish. Very mild tannins in the background. Good daily drinker, but not complex or exceptional.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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7/25/2015 - Rezy13 wrote: 87 points

Friday Night Double Blind Tasting $40+ (Bin 75): Garnet core showing some clarity; sweet fruit, fat and rich, berry fruit, blue and red, vanilla, chocolate; soft sappy texture, a bit one dimensional, herbs, chocolate, smoky, green pepper, sweet brulee, cherry, weaker mid palate; called Cullen Cab (Margaret River), simpler but tasty.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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7/12/2015 - GregK59 wrote: NR

Classic Margaret River style, juicy cabernet fruit with dusty dry finish. Great with a leg of lamb.

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Red

2011 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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10/1/2014 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 89 points

The color is ruby, medium (+) intensity. The nose is clean, with ripe black fruit (currant and plum), vanilla, cigar box and a little leather on the finish. The nose is of medium (+) intensity and is developing. The palate is dry, with medium acidity, medium (+) tannins and medium alcohol (14%). The palate has a generally darker and more brooding flavor profile, perhaps due to being aged 14 months in 40% new French oak. This is an elegant, balanced, medium-bodied wine, with medium flavor intensity and a medium finish. It is drinking well now and will probably continue to do so for a couple more years. It was essentially unchanged after being open a week.

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Red

2018 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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12/16/2021 - Wolffy wrote: 84 points

Potential, but years needed. As usual shortly after starting to open up, goes off quickly. What I struggle with on WA Wines...

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Red

2019 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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5/25/2023 - mpurdie wrote: 90 points

A little disappointing compared with 2016 & 2017 vintages. Expected more complexity and fruit driven. It did open up a bit after decanting. A good quoffer but I’ve had a lot better at lower price points.

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Red

2017 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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1/1/2021 - MK_Maxxable wrote: flawed

This bottle was sour, bitter and just reeking of menthol. Not at all like the others. I hope it was a 1x thing

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Red

2017 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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10/3/2019 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 88 points

Australian Wine Far from Ordinary Trade Tasting, San Francisco, nose of black berry, tasty, lovely, simple, young, great stuff for under $27.

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Red

2017 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

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5/8/2021 - KingBossKoopa Likes this wine: 90 points

Really starting to show, few more years or should be even better

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  • Tasting notes: 638 notes on 194 wines

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