2017 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon Exmoor

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 90.3 points

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  7/1/2021 - mjwstickings Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Here's a fine Cabernet from Margaret River in Western Australia, highlighting once more the fine value to be found in Aussie Cab. Featuring lifted aromatics, it offers fresh (ripe yet tart) fruit notes of blackcurrant, raspberry, and cherry, the menthol and mineral elements so characteristic of Aussie Cab (if less pronounced here than in, say, Cabs from Coonawarra), umami hints of mushroom and earth, and, most distinctively, a dominant tobacco note, all of which are replayed on the palate. There isn't a ton of depth or length, but we're talking about a $20 wine here (in Ontario), and if there's a bigger fault it's that the acidity is still a bit too sharp -- perhaps another year or two of aging would help, but the tannins are already quite soft. All in all, it's a really good, approachable Cab that admirably highlights the savoury side.

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  11/29/2019 - Psdycp wrote: 89 Points

  Classic clean and ripe nose of cassis, sage and thyme with toasted licorice and leather. Very delicious yet restrained. The same characteristic carried through to the full bodied spicy mid-palate. Rounded structure with some power towards the end of the finish. Just some chalky tannins since the wine is still very young. Although it can be drank now, it will benefit from a few more years of aging for the elements to harmonise and integrate better into the structure.

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  10/16/2019 - forceberry wrote: 90 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (96%) and Petit Verdot (4%). Fermented and macerated for 5-7 days in rotary and static fermentors; a small portion was left with the skins for a longer time. Aged for 14 months in French oak Barriques (20% new). 14,5% alcohol, 0,33 g/l residual sugar, 6,2 g/l acidity, 0,27 g/l VA and pH 3,52. 140 mg/l SO2, 38 mg/l of which is free.
  
  Somewhat translucent black cherry color. Dry, woody and quite savory nose with aromas of licorice, dried herbs, some woody pencil shaving tones, a little bit of toasty oak spice and a hint of fresh blackcurrant. The nose shows surprisingly little fruit, but it still comes across as quite pleasant and attractive. The wine is fresh, firm and medium-bodied on the palate with savory flavors of red cherries, some leafy green tones, a little bit of fresh dark plums, a little bit of brambly black raspberry, light woody notes of pencil shavings and a sweeter hint of toasty, slightly chocolatey oak. The wine is wonderfully high in acidity that makes the wine feel bright and structured, but the tannins feel quite ripe, mellow and textural; a wine this savory could use a little bit of tannic grip! The finish is dry, juicy and quite long with savory flavors of crunchy blackcurrants, fresh plums, some brambly raspberry tones, a little bit of herbaceous bell pepper character and a woody hint of pencil shavings.
  
  A very nice, fresh and serious effort for a mere entry-level Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine exhibits lovely precision and although the fruit feels ripe, it lacks the overt sweetness that I often find rather distracting in new world Cabs. Overall the wine seems to be in great balance and although the oak shows a little, it doesn't obfuscate the purity of fruit much. The only thing I really found the wine was lacking in were the tannins; this feels otherwise like a warm-vintage Left Bank Bordeaux, but without the tannins typical of the style. A very nice wine all the same.

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  7/18/2019 - RobPal Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Good value quaffer

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