Country: Australia
Region: Margaret River
Vintage: 2023
Variety: Cabernet & Cabernet Blends
Alcohol volume: 13.5
Closure: Screwcap

Appearance
Deep Ruby and Mulberry core with firm Garnet rim and faded velvet red brick.

Aroma
Attractive perfumed liquorice cherry & chocolate laced with a floral scent of rose and violets and framed by salty plum and iodine ironstone with a demure spice of curry leaf.

Palate
Profound wine of vigorous depth and harmonious concentration. Fine grained tannins that wrap around the palate with a juicy and unctuous structure of plums rich chocolate, cassis, and cherries unfolding glances of cedar and sandalwood sitting with grace and silk length at the back palate a great example of finesse.

Food matching
Filet mignon, mushroom béchamel, beef carpaccio.

Angus Hughson
97 Points
The 2023 Diana Madeline is almost pure Cabernet Sauvignon with 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot with splashes of Malbec and Petit Verdot. It opens with superb purity and definition showing cassis and violet aromas with subtle leafy and cedary tones plus beautifully integrated oak after 14 months in 40% new French. A seamless balance exists between serious tannins and layered flavours, holding a steady hand through a finish of extreme length. In a word, stunning. The best vintage in recent memory.

Ken Gargett
99 Points
Put bluntly, this is perhaps the finest young Australian Cabernet I can recall seeing. It is simply brilliant. The blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot, with that last one percent a mix of Malbec and Petit Verdot. The maturation was for fourteen months in French oak, with 40% of it new. An inky dark maroon colour, this is concentrated and seamless. We have aromas of dark, rich chocolate, cocoa beans, plums, beef stock, graphite, mulberries, cloves and blackberries. Elegance and refinement here, this is all class and there is wonderful length, with the wine finishing with the silkiest tannins. There is immaculate balance and amazing intensity and yet the wine dances with freshness and energy. The image that keeps appearing here is Muhammed Ali at his peak, dancing with grace. The more time in the glass or in an open bottle you can give it, the more reward will come. Surely one of the greatest Cabernets made in this country, perhaps Vanya’s best ever, and it confirms that 2023 in Margaret River – a region of seemingly endless fine vintages – is truly special. Why not 100? I do feel it deserves it, but I simply do not trust Vanya not to come up with something even better next vintage.

James Suckling
98 Points
So much purity and precision, showing aromas of blackcurrants, graphite, violets, cedar and licorice with a core of black fruit intertwined with undertones of spices, bitter chocolate and iron. The wonderfully poised palate has firm yet refined tannins and a plush, midweight mouthfeel. Mouthwatering granitic finish. The structure and tension will develop for decades. Made from 94% cabernet sauvignon, 2% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and touches of malbec and petit verdot. Excellent. Screw cap. Drink or hold.