Review: Yalumba The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Bam. Coonawarra Cabernet from the get-go AND $35. Even better, the Yalumba The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 can be found for sub $30 if you look. It’s not strictly a big wine – mid-weight and approachable Coonawarra Cabernet, which is a good thing. Still, you can see the spearmint and dark cedary berry Cabernet double act here, complete with proper drying tannins too.

It threatens to be bigger, bolder, and darker, yet the tannins and moderation just contain things. Not quite the concentration of a big dog Coonawarra red, but the sophistication is there. It’s a polite, tannin-driven red with Coonawarran authenticity and a great sticker price.

THE VERDICT

• Best drinking: now to ten years (as a start)
• Score (out of 20): 17.7
• Score (out of 100): 92
• Alcohol %: 14
• RRP (in $AUD): 35
• Winery website: https://www.yalumba.com/
• Would I buy it?: a few glasses.