Punching WAY above our weight

WA's share of the Australia's cabernet and red Bordeaux varietals is about 2%, based on 2020 production figures. 

Despite this tiny proportion from a country that produces just 3% of the world's wine, the west dominates Australia's cabernet quality.

So how good are WA's cabernet sauvignons?

One of the largest annual cabernet tastings in this country is the James Halliday Cabernet Challenge at which hundreds of Australia's finest cabernets are masked and then tasted by panels of Australia's finer judges. In both 2023 and 2024 the Forest Hill Great Southern's Block Five Cabernet Sauvignon has won the Best Cabernet Sauvignon Trophy. Against most of the best in the country. Fluke?

Another example could be provided by the Canberra or National Wine Show. This is one of Australia's largest and most prestigious wine shows, with the nation's most sought-after trophies.

From its 2% of Australia's cabernet, WA has won every Best Cabernet Trophy since 2004, with the exception of Coonawarra's Magella winning in 2007. Of these 19 Canberra trophies, against most of Australia's finest, Margaret River's Xanadu has been awarded 10

Such figures are almost too good to be true. They would be a marketer's dream. 

What about the international judges?

There are two great wine shows on the planet, both in the UK.

One is the Decanter World Wine Awards with 200 to 300 of the world's most famous palates as judges. It has more than 18,000 entries each year with about 1200 of them being Bordeaux or cabernet styles.  Each year, the show judges award the 50 highest pointed wines Best in Show. These are chosen from hundreds of varieties, from 57 (this year) countries. In the three years 2022 to 2024, only a combined seven of the 50 Best in Show winners were from the cabernet and red Bordeaux varieties. Of the seven cabernet Best in Show awards, four came to WA. Four out of seven. In London the opposition included Bordeaux, the US, New Zealand, South Africa ... and the rest of Australia!

Extraordinary? Yep.

In Australia, our seven capital city wine shows host one of the world's finest judging systems. About 90% of the judges are from the eastern states and the wines are tasted blind. Since 2014 until last week, with a slight interruption due to COVID in 2020, there have been 70 capital city wine shows and 76% of the Best Cabernet trophy accolades have come to WA ... from just 2.1% of Australia's cabernet production. Extraordinary.

Deep Woods have won 12 Cabernet Trophies since 2013 (16%. In early November Xanadu were awarded the Best Cabernet Trophy at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show, and have now won an extraordinary 24 (30%) since 2013. These two wineries together have won 46% of Australia's Best Cabernet Trophies in the last decade. These figures have not been mentioned in a national or an eastern state's wine column.

This week's recommendations:

The Xanadu Black Label Cabernet 2020(Trophy Adelaide and 10 gold medals) or the 2021 vintage, $49, or the Devil's Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (four of six 2024 capital city cabernet sauvignon trophies, and best Cabernet at Margaret River's early November Wine Show) $39 to $55.