2019 Houghton Gladstones Cabernet Sauvignon

96 POINTS

Aaron Brasher - The Real Review

Youthful, bright and vibrant colour in the glass. Archetypal cabernet aromas of cassis, cedar, tobacco, bramble and briary leafiness. Dark-fruited, lashings of blackberry, mulberry and dark cherry. There’s a fabulous savoury tannin drive and the acidity is bright and crunchy and both tannin and acidity provide structure, firmness and mouth-feel. A wine with flavour, structure and real complexity

95 POINTS

Ray Jordan

This is a somewhat more restrained cabernet because of this quite cool vintage. However, you can't take the power of Margaret River out of it that easily. Deep blackcurrant and dark chocolate characters reach into the nose and palate. There's a typical lacing of bay leaf and dried thyme-dominant herbs. The chalky tannins keep it focused and the palate is long and controlled.

95 POINTS

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front

It constantly amazes me how big companies with all their fancy folks working together on wines can’t get an RRP on a bottle for a wine sample mail out. Ipso, no idea what this costs with the wine revealed on the table; the Brookland Valley website, which houses Houghton wines, seems to be out of date too (or perhaps this is a preview release). Marketing material PDF things that were emailed have no RRP on them, though they look good. Oh well. What’s in the glass, and all that. It feels winemaker Courtney Treacher has knocked this one out of the park. Lovely wine this. Dense and rich but sits at medium weight, a sheath of cocoa powder tannins keeps dark plum and fig, date and nut characters internal, the wine stretches long and luxurious, supple and flowing. There’s lots of blue and dark fruit perfume with that mocha/coffee powder scent there too. Whiffs of bayleaf and sea spray complete a beautiful scent. Supple, succulent finish? Yes thanks. An elegant, athletic and fine cabernet wine which enthusiasts should line up for.

95 POINTS

James Halliday - Halliday's Wine Companion

From the Batley Vineyard in the Wilyabrup subregion; hand-picked fruit, open fermented with wild yeast and matured in French barriques. Seemingly picked earlier than most, the colour not deep, a la the Englishman's claret of bygone days. On the plus side, it has excellent balance, no sign of green fruit, and can be enjoyed now as much as in 5 years.

95 POINTS

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Deep, bright red/purple colour with a bright, intense cassis aroma which shouts cabernet sauvignon, violets and blueberries too, a hint of pepper, while the palate is medium to full-bodied and elegantly-structured, with fine, balanced tannin and decent length. As a varietal cabernet it's spot-on. It's a bit simple at this stage, very much a fruit wine, and needs time to build more character. (From the Batley vineyard in Wilyabrup)

91 POINTS

Sarah Jane Evans MW, Tina Gellie, Dirceu Vianna Junior MW - Decanter

Nose of red plums, a hint of fresh apricot, sage and oregano. Savoury and complex, with a sinuous palate shape.