TN: 2018 Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon

[Duncan Disorderly]

A lot of hoopla surrounding this wine so I had a look, only to come away with mixed feelings.

From the first mouthful many will be seduced by the wave of sweet plums, black currant cordial and eucalyptus lovingly engulfing their front palate. However, once that big opening recedes the proverbial emperor is wearing no clothes in my opinion. There’s little structure or complexity and it didn’t develop with air. All it really has is fruit sweetness and a bit of swagger. It’s enjoyable enough in its own way and a good quaffer on a cold winter's night, but that’s all.

What I find it troubling though is that a wine this obvious can receive the plaudits it has. I guess I’m not that surprised. Like many here, I don't hold a lot of store in wine shows and stratospheric scoring. But surely rewarding this homage to the 'sunshine in a bottle' styles of the past (backed by plenty of corporate spin) doesn’t help Australia's long term reputation as a source of high quality elegant wines.

[paulf]

I wasn't aware that this wine was garnering accolades and it is a relatively inexpensive wine. One thing I do know is that there would have been a change of winemaker somewhere around this vintage. I assume this is still part of the Yalumba portfolio, although you'll find very little to connect it to Yalumba.