Zema Estate 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon May08

Tasting Note

Sydney Time

Zema Estate 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon May08 sells for $22 at cellar door and is sealed under cork. The bouquet was initially closed but eventually opened to reveal cigar box, blackcurrant, tealeaf characters and cedar. The tannins appear to the unobtrusive but they certainly back this muscular-weight wine solidly. The deep, strong, pure fruit that is driving this wine is yummy and has fantastic intensity. It finishes with excellent length too. It's sweet, savoury, spicy with blackberry, tar, tomato leaf and all sorts of other good flavours that finish dry, clean and crisp. The complexity is well-developed and it's as tight as a drum. Coonawarra Cabernet does not get better at this price, and whilst it's approachable now it will improve and change over time. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, if you can pick it up for a few dollars less on special, it would rate is five stars for value, and can be drunk any time from now to 2020. This is the best Zema Cabernet I have had in fifteen vintages.

That's the good news; however I am concerned about the quality of the corks used in this wine. Both the initial two samples were corked and whilst that may be just bad luck, given the problems I had with the same vintage of the Zema Shiraz, I am not convinced.