2006 Trial of John Montford Cabernet (Padthaway, Australia)

This fine cabernet came from the wine club that was gifted by Almenia Garvey. All of the club's bottles have been excellent quality but this one is especially good. Definitely a New World cab, very ripe but with acid to match the grapey fruit and a deep, complex nose of black currant, cassis, violet, vanilla, licorice with some pleasant herbal notes. I'd say almost anyone would recognize this as a classic cabernet bouquet. The alcohol is pretty restrained (14.5%) to me, and I've been very sensitive to alcohol since my hepatitis so to me these days, when a wine doesn't have much hotness on the palate it's a mark of a well-made bottle. There isn't much tannin and I don't think this is a long-term wine but for 2-3 more years it will be a pleasurable drink. This could pass for a nice Napa valley cab, perhaps not surprisingly. This is a 90+ point wine. These are the people who make Henry's Drive Shiraz.

Parker is slightly less enthusiastic but similar, giving it 89 points:

The higher end of the portfolio starts with the 2006 The Trial of John Montford Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested at a modest two tons of fruit per acre. Cherry red in color, it has a fragrant perfume of bouquet garni, cassis and black currant. On the palate it reveals an elegant personality but is lacking the depth and concentration needed for an outstanding score. Nevertheless, it is a fairly priced effort for drinking over the next five years.

Here's a nice little history of the area in southeast Australia:




Historical evidence shows that sea once covered the Padthaway region, with the ranges running parallel to the coast being coastal sand dunes. This is evident from the limestone now found beneath our soil.

In the mid 1800’s this land was covered by freshwater for much of the year and referred to as “Mosquito Plains”.
Robert Lawson, a Scottish immigrant, took out a pastoral lease in 1847 which covered an area of 47 square miles. He named his new home, “Padthaway Station” and the original stone cottage of Robert and Eliza Lawson is still in use today.

In 1872 the government reclaimed parts of the Lawson’s run, then offered blocks of land for sale at the “Village of Cockatoo Lake” which was later renamed “Keppoch”. This land was gradually cleared for cropping and grazing with sawmills and timber workers processing the huge red gums in the area for use as sleepers to support railway lines.

Another large group of farming blocks was taken up in 1936 by farmers in the Hundred of Glenroy. Following World War 2, soldier settlement blocks were allocated closer to the Padthaway Station homestead and irrigation began being developed using the underground water resource.
Today, Padthaway is a versatile agricultural region with outstanding production being achieved by both dryland and irrigated methods. The variety of commodities produced includes grapes, onions, cereals, pulses, pasture seeds, vegetables, sheep and cattle.