The 2017 The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon is looking good next to the 2016 tasted beside it. It is fresh and vibrant, with layers of complexing dark earth characters, with cigar box, black olive brine, cassis, bramble, milk chocolate and cracked black pepper. This is very good, and it has what I am coming to recognize as a "Yalumba red character": dried herbs, particularly oregano. The juicy splay of fruit through the finish is a highlight.

Plush and elegant, delivering polished red cherry, raspberry and milk chocolate notes, plus generous savory herbs and tobacco. Shows a hint of fresh mint on the finish. Drink now through 2028. 2,000 cases made, 80 cases imported.??–MW??Region: Australia / Coonawarra Select to Add

The 2016 The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon is very good. A savory, complex, herbal and full throttle Cabernet, it has svelte elegance and tannic swagger in equal measure. This is very licorice-y in its expression, with salted raspberry, mulberry, aniseed and clove to close. Smart. It matured in a combination of French and Hungarian hogsheads for 22 months. The portion of Hungarian oak may help to explain some of the subtle, slightly offbeat spice characters through the finish. Sealed under natural cork.

Supple and elegant, showing hazelnut, black walnut and dark chocolate details to juicy kirsch, framboise and blueberry flavors at the core. Tobacco, toasted cumin and sandalwood notes linger effortlessly among supple tannins. Drink now through 2030. 2,000 cases made, 40 cases imported.??–MW??Region: Australia / Coonawarra Select to Add

Yalumba's 2015 The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a Coonawarra property the company has owned since 1993. Made in a classically restrained style, it's medium-bodied and refined, with silky tannins that turn drying and gently dusty on the lengthy finish. Streamlined and red-fruited, with crisp acids, it delivers cherry, red currant and cassis fruit accented by subtle vanilla, cedar and herbal tobacco-like notes.