The 95 Block sub-section of our estate 'Abbey' vineyard is located west of the cellars and planted with Reynell clone Cabernet Sauvignon. These vines are original cuttings from Bordeaux, brought to Coonawarra before they were lost to France due to Phylloxera in the late 1800's. The 95 Block also contains four rows of Petit Verdot, which was co-fermented with the Cabernet Sauvignon following the exceptional 2015 vintage. 

2015 95 BLOCK REVIEWS

93 POINTS - CAMPBELL MATTINSON - THE WINE FRONT

Single block release. 80.5% Cabernet, 19.5% Petit Verdot. Twenty-year-old vines. 90% new French oak. Substance. Volume of fruit, volume of oak, volume of tannin. Put this in the cellar and leave it alone awhile; it will perform. Blackcurrant, violets, gunmetal & gum leaf. Oak is slightly resiny but only just, the fruit is swallowing it at pace. Will be excellent in time.

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92 POINTS - JEREMY OLIVER

Medium to full-bodied, long and drying, with deep black and blue fruits, scents of violets and cedar.

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94 POINTS - HUON HOOKE - THE REAL REVIEW

Deep, dark colour with a tinge of black, and this goes hand in hand with an overripe fruit aroma, with some creosote and dense oaky notes. Violets emerged with airing. There is good cabernet character, despite the massive degree of ripeness and extract. A very big, dense, concentrated cabernet with lashings of tannin and generous use of oak. A whopper. It needs years before I would start to drink it.

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94 POINTS - ROB GEDDES

Classic cassis and cedar on the nose, with a touch of peppermint and underpinned by a rich seam of dark, black fruits, black coffee and dark chocolate. The palate is well integrated, harmonious and balanced. Blackcurrant and espresso flavour is wrapped up by fine tannins and carried all the way to the finish. Lovely line and length. Coonawarra at its best.

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DAN TRAUCKI - WINE ASSIST

Elegant Cabernet aromas with plenty of vanillin oak, deep richly flavoured, with superb balance and great texture. It finishes tightly making it a great food wine now and it will develop over time into an OUTSTANDING WINE.

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94 POINTS - Toni Paterson

Intensely concentrated with focused dark fruits. Blackberry, blueberry and dark cherry nuances with nuances of licorice. The acidity is bright and balanced, and the structural tannins frame the fruit. Needs time.

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94 POINTS - Steve Leszczynski

A Cabernet dominant blend which needs more time in the bottle but will reward handsomely in years to come. A 80.5/19.5 blend with Petit Verdot making a neat contribution. The vines are only 20 year old. Varietal characteristics hum along - blackcurrant, tomato leaf, and dark berry fruit. Dried green herbs, roasted peppers, blackcurrant leaf and dark chocolate all playing secondary roles. More time in the glass brings some violet aromas. Plummy goodness rides through the middle of the mouth with blackcurrant leaf on its shoulders. Oak is hefty but this will settle over time. Generous yet there's a subtlety worth embracing. Drying cocoa tannins finish a clever wine which will live long. Best drinking 2020 to a decade+

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2014 95 BLOCK REVIEWS

96 POINTS - HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION 2018

Planted in '95. Comprising 27 rows of cabernet sauvignon and four of petit verdot, with the latter making up 7% of the blend. Excellent dark crimson colour, wafts of menthol and dark chocolate sprinkled on blackberry and plum compote, deep, earthy. Complex, very complete palate, tannins ripe and plentiful. 

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94 POINTS - TONY KEYS

A cabernet dominant wine with petit verdot adding an edge that provides the zip that our inner self craves. It’s travelling at 94 now but will rise, given time, and $65 is within bounds for this quality of wine.

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92 POINTS - TONI PATERSON

Fragrant, lilting aromas of ripe blackcurrants and blueberries. The palate is bright and alive, though measured and restrained, with perfectly poised ripe fruit and discreet oak. It will evolve into a beautiful, elegant wine.