Ten acclaimed Yarra Valley Cabernets + two upgrade Private Reserve bottles from the exalted Napa Valley. A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon with a refreshing splash of Petit Verdot and Merlot, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour is full-bodied, rich and complex. The Harry’s Monster is a giant in both the flavour and point-scoring stakes. An amalgamation of Cabernet, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, the wine is awash with ripe cassis, red berry, oak, fine tannin, and a long lingering finish. A cult USA icon, a local giant and significant savings.
This case includes the following:
10 x GIANT STEPS Harry's Monster Sexton Vineyard Cabernets, Yarra Valley 2019
2 x BEAULIEU VINEYARD Private Reserve Georges de La Tour Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa 2014
Deep, vibrant purple/red colour. Cassis and blueberry, spices and violets to sniff. Medium to full-body, very intense flavour, power and length to burn. Loads of tension and energy plus plus. Abundant ripe tannins provide backbone. Long, reverberating aftertaste. (55% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon, 5% petit verdot)
95 points, The Real Review (November 2021)
This vintage sees the split at 59/40% merlot/cabernet sauvignon and that all important 1% petit verdot. Made with the same exacting attention to detail as all the wines in this range: hand-picked fruit, vinified separately, natural fermentation, aged in French barriques for 14 months. Don’t be fooled by its approachability. This is a classy, medium-bodied rendition that will unfurl and garner more complexity given more time. Today, it’s almost pretty, with its array of red and blue fruits, finely chiselled tannins and a smooth texture across the palate.
95 points, Wine Companion (August 2021)
My initial impression was that this is a more voluptuous style than normal but then it quickly honed and straightened. This is complex, energetic, ripe and just plain lovely; it’s medium in weight, herb-flecked and clearly from the cabernet family and yet it’s seamless and svelte too. Seductive but with extras. True to itself but not without flair. You get the idea. It’s good. Structural but with freshness and flesh.
94 points, The Wine Front (March 2021)
Blended of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 3 % Merlot, all coming mainly from the Rutherford AVA, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour has a deep garnet-purple color and nose of baked black berries, dried mulberries and preserved plums with hints of allspice, cardamom, lavender and cigar box. Full-bodied, rich and expressive even today, it has a firm, chewy backbone and bags of freshness, promising a long life and much more to come with careful cellaring. 6,600 cases were made.
97 points, Wine Advocate (Novembe 2017)
A blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Merlot, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour was aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, 88% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it gives up compelling kirsch, sautéed herbs, crème de cassis and baked plums notes with touches of tobacco, fallen leaves and dried mint. Full-bodied (14.9% alcohol) and solidly structured with firm, chewy tannins in the mouth, the palate is packed with muscular fruit lifted by herbal accents, finishing long and savory.
96 points, Wine Advocate (June 2019)
Extremely complex aromas of currant, coffee, spearmint, Thai basil and sandalwood. Full body, firm and chewy tannins yet linear and exciting. Just a baby. Fantastic structure here. Better in 2020.
96 points, JamesSuckling.com (May 2017)
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve is fabulous. Ripe, silky and wonderfully nuanced, the 2014 is all class. In 2014, the Georges de Latour is remarkably finessed from start to finish. All the elements are wonderfully fused together. The 2014 is a stunningly beautiful Georges de Latour. In 2014, about half of the lots were fermented in barrel. Drops of Petit Verdot and Merlot round out the blend.
96 points, Vinous (September 2017)
Bright ruby-red color. Enticing aromas and flavors of blueberry, violet, black cherry and sandalwood. Juicy and pliant wine but not hugely fleshy or fat, conveying terrific clarity and depth of flavor and a captivating balance of sweet and savory elements. The slowly building, very long finish features substantial broad tannins. This beauty stands out for its precision and penetration. I like it as much as the 2015 but the two wines are totally different in mouth feel. (14.9% alcohol; 3.69 pH; 6.1 g/l acidity; aged for 22 months in 88% new French oak)
95 points, Vinous (March 2019)
Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley was first planted by the Ryrie brothers who explored a way through the Snowy Mountains to the Yarra Valley, planting grapes in 1838 just three years after the foundation of Melbourne. A wine industry (developed by Swiss Settlers particularly Hubert de Castella and Baron Guillaume de Pury in the 1850s) thrived during the gold rush era and heyday of the 19th century. However, the end of the gold rush brought the wine industry into decline and it was not until the 1970’s that the modern wine industry started up again. The region is probably Australia’s best-known cool-climate area, yet it is really a patchwork of meso-climates. This varied topography creates an incredible set of variables. Vineyards are planted on elevations of 50 to 400m on varying aspects and management programmes. The more exposed sites are subject to severe spring frosts and winds. Overall, the area experiences a relatively high rainfall pattern and is known for its temperature extremes during ripening. Site selection is crucial, with the best vineyards often located where the original vines were once planted, generally on sandy clay loams and gravels. The Yarra Valley is well known for high quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Blends with Shiraz increasingly garnering attention. Sparkling wine production is also extremely important, with many of Australia’s finest examples produced in the region.
