Yalumba’s The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 comes from Yalumba’s superstar Coonawarra site on the famed terra rossa strip, delivering a powerful, site‑driven expression of modern Australian Cabernet that’s both polished and deeply regional.

The bouquet swirls with ripe blackcurrant, sweet mulberry and plum, lifted by violets and a lift of graphite, underpinned by layers of cedar, tobacco leaf and subtle bay‑leaf spice from careful French oak maturation. On the palate, the wine is rich and fleshy yet fine, with dark blueberry and licorice intensity, a savoury mid‑palate of tapenade and dried herbs, and powdery, chocolate‑tannin structure that gives the The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon a long, lingering finish.

This is a wine built for flame‑grilled steaks, slow‑roasted lamb shoulder or a rich duck ragu, where its tannins and acidity cut through fat while the dark fruit and oak harmonise with herby, roasted flavours. Keep a bottle or two aside for a Christmas roast or a backyard barbecue and let the Coonawarra magic of The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon unfold over the next five to six years.