Several William Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon in there natural habitat

You may notice that the volume of posts will be a little lighter over the next two weeks, for I’m off on my first proper holiday in almost three years. Foolishly (or joyously, depending on who you ask) there will be winery visits on this holiday as I clearly can’t help myself – including a quick trip to Chablis, and a day or two in Barolo, with my first visit to an English sparkling producer next week that I’m quite looking forward to. More to come.

Anyways, this Cabernet turned up in the post this week and it deserves a mention. I first tasted it during a visit to Hardys in McLaren Vale (more on that later) earlier this month and thought that it was the standout of the new William Hardys range, a collection of new regional wines named after Bill (William) Hardy.

William Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (Coonawarra, SA)

14%, Screwcap, $20.95

To say that Coonawarra winemakers are excited about 2012 would be putting it mildly. William (Bill to his mates) Hardy was quite proud of this wine too –  it certainly looked the most regional out of the new lineup (which also includes a ripe Barossa Shiraz, slightly generic Adelaide Hills Sauv and a curiously neutral Chardonnay).

Sourced from vines on three of the ‘typical’ Coonawarra soil types (terra rossa clay over limestone, transitional brown rendzina and the ‘black goo’ black rendzina), this is 90% Cabernet with 10% Merlot – a handy mix for Coonawarra reds, just needing to swap out the Merlot for Shiraz…

What I like about this wine is that it has some of that open-fermented, basket-pressed, silken richness and shapely tannins. Gently fruit-forward and generous in that modern vein, it is perhaps a little simple and juicy initially, yet finishes quite firm and nicely extractive. 

Ultimately, once the puppy fat of youth settles down, you get the feeling this will be a handy, well priced Coonawarra Cab that is worth hunting down. 17.5/20, 91/100+