2023 Forest Hill Vineyard Block 5 Cabernet

98 POINTS

Ray Jordan

I’ve been waiting for this wine to emerge from the shadows of the cellar. This is a great vintage, and the result is one of the best wines, if not the best, yet from Forest Hill. This is a single dry-grown bock planted in 1975. This is cabernet in its most beautiful, structured and dominant form. Light leaf over blackcurrant with a black olive and minerally oyster shell layer. The palate is sublimely integrated, featuring a firm yet linear and fine tannin thread, complemented by perfectly weighted oak. A gem.

96 POINTS

Mike Bennie - Halliday Wine Companion

There's a haunting beauty to this wine. Pure dark cherry, cassis with violet florals, understated light minty notes, dashes of white pepper, clove, a bit of turned earth and tobacco here, too. The wine is so very compact, tannins so very fine and high quality, the length of the wine exceptional, persistent in faint grip, spice, earth and blue/black fruit characters. The compact nature of the wine coupled to its refreshment factor is just outstanding. Unreal.

96 POINTS

Cassandra Charlick - Winepilot

The Forest Hill Block 5 is one of the most underrated Cabernet Sauvignons in Australia. Each vintage I cannot believe that this isn’t a sold-out wine soon after release. It should be, though perhaps this is also a sign of Cabernet’s wavering appeal as a variety at the moment. Yields are low due to the dry-grown, gnarly old vines (1975 planting) in this vineyard. Just 25% new oak lets the fruit speak with clarity, though this is young and still snuggled in tight. Purple and juicy red fruits, hibiscus flower, dark choc toast, and saltbush follow through to fine and multitudinous silty tannins. Acidity glows and shimmers on the horizon like sunrise. Make no mistake – we aren’t talking about the brash blush of a fiery sunset. This has fantastic persistence with a savoury, dried eucalypt finish and length in the earthen spectrum. Terracotta dust, salted liquorice, black plum, concentrated red Xmas spice, violets and crushed slate…there’s so much. A portrait of Cabernet, albeit with a slightly wild beauty. An embrace of a wine that glides over the palate. If you must, decant and drink now, though hold it a little longer before opening if you can.

95 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2023 Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon is perfumed and high-toned, floral and very pretty, with raspberry seed and rose, pomegranate and black cherry. It is superb. The tannins that flow beneath the river of fruit flavors are ferruginous and fine. This is a really impressive wine. It was the winner for a second year in a row of the James Halliday Chardonnay and Cabernet Challenge, a national competition in Australia.

95 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Houghton clone cabernet, planted 1975, dry grown. Classic cabernet in every respect. Beautiful from every angle, too. It tastes of blackcurrant and anise, gum leaves and tobacco, with smoked cedar, chocolate and sweet plum characters sunk deep within. It’s fragrant, it’s deep, its flows and it lingers, the integration of fine-grained tannin yet another highlight. Top notch.

93 POINTS

Angus Hughson - Vinous

The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Block 5 shows impressive purity and finesse, with focused cassis and dried herb aromas accompanied by serious oak. Graphite and fruit pastille flavors open with approachability before a firm core of deep-set tannins takes control through to a dry, elongated finish. Youthful, and it will build beautifully over the medium term.