Description
While Giant Steps is better known for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, their famed Sexton Vineyard, named for the winery's founder Phil Sexton, has long grown outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon. 2022 saw the first ever release of a single varietal Cabernet from this site, with talented chief winemaker Mel Chester crafting this stunning fruit into a Trophy-winning wine (Best Cabernet Sauvignon - Yarra Valley Wine Show).
The Sexton Vineyard, nestled on the steep, north-facing slopes of the Warramate Ranges, benefits from thin topsoil and rocky clay beneath, producing intensely flavored fruit. The two-paced 2022 vintage yielded grapes with superb flavor concentration as well as great natural acidity, which worked tremendously well for later ripening varieties such as Cabernet.
This Cabernet Sauvignon blends three separate ferments, each destemmed and cold-soaked for four days before fermentation. Soft extraction techniques preserved whole berries initially, followed by more vigorous plunging to enhance tannin extraction. The wine matured in French oak barrels for 10 months before being blended and further aged in seasoned puncheons for integration.
It's a classic cooler climate Cabernet bouquet, with notes of blackcurrant, cedar, and hints of graphite. The palate is long and richly flavoured, with layers of dark fruit, cocoa, and well-integrated tannins. It's a lovely drink but this Cabernet, like all the best iconic examples from the region, with cellar beautifully for up to fifteen years.
97 points
"A medium deep, bright crimson-purple, this elegant and concentrated wine has aromas of dark cherries, blackcurrant, ugni, cedar from the impeccably handled oak, and violets. The palate is medium bodied and perfectly pitched. This is another superb Yarra cabernet that dispels the notion that you'll have to cellar it for ages to enjoy."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)
96 points, Gold Medal + Trophy (Best Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 2023 Yarra Valley Wine Show
Giant Steps
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