XANADU Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Robert Parker Score: 96+ points

Reviewer: Erin Larkin — July 2023 Week 16 Jul 2023

Drink 2023–2045

The 2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is firm and plush, with layers of tannin and dark fruit. The season was warm, dry and low yielding, and the wines are concentrated and structural. This works very well in the favor of some vineyards, less so for others. At Xanadu, the estate Cabernet fruit tends to be delicate and aromatic, pure and concentrated (I am well aware that "concentrated" and "delicate" may not go hand in hand, but the Xanadu wines make it so), so in a warm season such as 2020, and in the context of this wine that sources fruit from further north in the region, the wine has gravitas and density to spare. Raspberry, tobacco, pepper, roast beetroot and nori inflections. It was made with 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec and matured for 14 months in French oak (40% new). 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.