2006 Kingston Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 6:50PM After a gap of five years, I was back for the fourth time late last year judging at my favourite wine show, the Sydney International Top 100. I enjoy the challenge of the Top 100 because it has a majority of overseas judges and so any pre-conceptions you have are quickly out the window. It's also great to have Australian wines (heaps of Kiwi wines, too, and a smattering from other overseas countries) judged by overseas professionals. Unlike any other wine show, the last stage of the judging (for about 400 of the best wines) is done alongside food - in the same way that most wine is consumed. At this stage, the 14 judges are arranged in two teams of seven with each of the wines tasted with an appropriate dish. Detailed comments of all seven judges on the top wines are published on line (www.top100wines.com - under Award winners). The website is an excellent resource for knowing which wines go well with food.
The 2,000 wines entered are whittled down over a week of judging to a Top 100. The best wines are given a Blue-Gold award if they are judged to be of gold medal standard with food. Most of the wines entered are outside the reach of Quaff but, each year, there are a few bargains discovered at the Show. For me, this year's best is the 2006 Kingston Cabernet. At $12, it is a steal - or to be more realistic, the kind of magical quaffer that subscribers to this website can expect to see.
The 2006 Kingston Cabernet is dense, rich and concentrated yet supple; quite a fleshy wine with some good cassis and juicy plum characters. It's very approachable, with a lovely lift on the finish. At the Sydney Top 100, it was paired in the final round judging with pork fillets on a soubise sauce with steamed bok choy. (Jacquie Mason's recipe is on the Top 100 website under Food for Wine Pairings 2009.) My comment: With the dish, you get a really attractive mouth feel and the finish is improved.
Rating: Bloody Good
Cost: $12.00
Winemaker:
Wide availability in all Australian states.
Reviewed: 3 April 2009
Reader Comments (4)
I went to buy this one at Dan's last night but they only had the 2008 vintage. $8.50
Not the same wine I assume.
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The company was founded after seeing a niche in the market for high quality, high availability hosting, and is one of the most respected hosting companies in the marketplace. We have always been focussed on two things specifically; providing high technical quality services and making sure our clients are completely happy with our services.