Cullen Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004
“A perplexing wine to evaluate, Cullen’s 2004 flagship red is a medium-weight blend ofCabernet SauvignonMerlot andCabernet Franc. It’s fruit-forward, with bright cherry and cassis notes, but is there enough stuffing behind that to balance the moderately astringent tannins? Give it 3–5 years and see if it blossoms.” – 90/100, Wine Enthusiast
VARIETIES: Majority of Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder being 13% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc, vines average 30 years old
REGION: Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
AGEING: Maturation was in French oak of which 54% was new) for a period of 18 months
GUARDING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now or will cellar well up to 15 years
SERVE: Serve at 16 – 18ºC
FITS TO: Pairs excellently with Moroccan Chickpea Stew, Kangaroo Fillet, Beef Pie, Roasted Lamb and Winter Vegetables, Aged Hard Cheeses
CRITICS SCORES: 95/RP, 94/V, 91/WS, 90/WE, 97/JO
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2004 Diana Madeline | Range | Cullen Wines
The exceptional quality of this wine explains why we consider the 2004 vintage to be so outstanding for our red wines. In our view, even at this young stage in the development of our flagship red wine, we are totally confident that the quality of the 2004 Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot ranks with the 1995, 1999 and 2001 vintages, which were the previous outstanding vintages of the last fifteen years.
The quality of the 2004 vintage red wines reflect the perfect conditions that existed onwards from just prior to bud burst. The good rainfall in the months up to November 2003 produced perfect conditions for the vines in the early part of the growing season. The main growing season was cool and dry, which was ideal as the vines did not become even mildly stressed. This was followed by warm but not extreme temperatures, which led to the production of red grapes that attained perfect physiological ripeness.
The 2004 Diana Madeline was produced from fruit obtained using biodynamic techniques, which we consider to be crucial for optimising the quality of the fruit flavours and for investing the wine with a velvety structure and very high quality tannins.
This wine was made from a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The fruit was picked at Baumé’s ranging from 12.1- 13.7º, producing an average value of 13.5º. The wine was matured for 18 months in French oak, of which 54% was new.
