A five star winery Cabernet for $15.40 is proof that the wine does not taste better the more you pay for it. What it does show is that the many small wineries now make more than they can sell. So out goes the Glug truck and back come the French barrels.
Boutique wines costing you $35-$50 at the winery’s cellar door thus appear as Glug bottlings for $10-$15.
Late last year we purchased a collection of Shiraz and Cabernet of exquisite quality from a ‘five star’ winery, this rating being awarded by a noted wine writer. I can say no more as part of any purchase means we are forbidden to use the maker’s name. The best of these barrels was kept for Fareham Estate* Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021.
I have great fondness for Clare reds which goes way back to red blends of the 1960s-1970s from Wendouree and those fabulous Stanley Clare Bin Number, 56 and 49 reds of the 1980s.
Clare was on a roll yet since then so many other regions have developed that inevitably they have slipped back in customer recognition. The reason of course why we were offered these wines. I strongly endorse this Cabernet that may be matched against all more expensive wines. Great drinking.
*Note that the maker of the Fareham Estate Cabernet is not the same maker of Glug’s Fareham Estate Riesling. We use Fareham Estate for Clare wines we purchase from several Clare Valley boutiques.
