Killerby, Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

There’s no better place to source Cabernet than in Western Australia’s Margaret River region and you’ll have to search high and low to find a more approachable example than the 2010 Killerby Cabernet Sauvignon.

I can’t help but enjoy the slightly dusty mintiness that hits you on the nose, but it’s the full-bodied blackcurrants and juicy raisins that captivate my palate and the tongue-gripping tannins that give the wine a real structural backbone. Constraint is the key to the wine’s integrity and a big part of that are the tannins and an herbaceous finale that lingers and lingers.

I guess 18 months spent on French oak will always help to provide balance and support the sweet plumy fruit that is a stark contrast to the drier styles you’ll often see from other regions, but all credit must go to winemaker, Marco Pinares, who has nurtured this wine through the pressing of the grapes, malo-lactic fermentation and methodically exposing it to oak through the maturation process.

There’s none of the clumsiness that is sometimes found in the bolder Australian fruit-driven styles and at around $20 to $30 a bottle, it’s as affordable as a really good wine can be.