Robert Oatley Vineyards

Wildflower Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Award
Winner Blue Gold Fuller Bodied Dry Red Wines
Grape Varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon (100%) Mudgee, Margaret River, WA, Australia
Country of Origin
Australia
Alcohol Content
13.5% Alcohol by Volume
Wine Type and Oak Treatment
Still Red with Oak Treatment
Recommended Retail Price
RRP AU $18.95
Buy This Wine
  • Robert Oatley Vineyards
    845 Henry Lawson Drive
    Mudgee, NSW
    Australia 2850
  • Sue Williams, Marketing Assistant
  • Phone (61) 41789 703

“Ripe fruit. Fresh and vibrant. Cassis. Lifted and pure. A big wine, but with some more balance than some others in the bracket. A good match with this Cabernet based wine. A good synergy of flavours.”

“Deep inky purple hue. The nose is ripe with cassis, black currant leaf and pouch tobacco. The palate is dry and full bodied with fresh acidity, black currant and leaf notes with firm tobacco leaf tannins, the fruit is a little lean under the weight of the oak and tannins. The beef softens the tannins a little bringing them to a chalky texture but the fruit is a little lean and swamped under the tannins and protein.”

“Bold nose with plenty of ripe fruit and smart oak, very polished and plush on the palate, well balanced with fine, firm tannins and fresh acidity. Perhaps a little too rich and polished but it’s a style that will have plenty of fans. Overrides the dish though the basics work well enough.”

“Deep cherry-crimson colour. Savoury, complex, dark-cherry and fresh mint aromas with vanilla/toasty oak overlay. Savoury, complex palate. Fresh acidity, firm dry tannins. With food: Cabernet is ok with the beef.”

“Deep red, fragrant ripe and vanilla and chocolate nose, rich and concentrated palate of sweet plum and dry tannins, the dish is overpowered by the dry tannins.”

“Deep ruby. Medium intensity, plum and butter menthol and smoke. Dark plum and spice. The wine dominates this match.”

“Fruit salad like, savoury, toasty oak and spice lift, almost graphite/velvet. Rich with big vanillin oak up front, slight donut, but has massive flavours, drying and raspy tannins. Food: hasn’t worked at all – makes the tannins more prominent.”

The Fuller Bodied Dry Red Wines were judged with

Wagyu, Potato Gratin and Fennel Salad

Presented by chef Marcell Kustos

Ingredients

  • ~100 g Wagyu sirloin/person, sous-vide at 55C, pan fried
Potato gratin: 30 min at 180 C
  • 1 kg potato, 3mm mandolin
  • 1 can of coconut cream (whole)
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 2 shallots, sliced not minced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced not minced
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 20 g salt
  • Pepper to taste
Fennel salad:
  • ½ fennel, thinly sliced, mandolin (preferably very thin with Japanese mandolin)
  • Pickle fennel for 10 min in 100ml water, 100 ml apple cider vinegar, 30 g maple syrup, 10 g salt
  • In a bowl, mix fennel with 1 Tbsp pickling liquid and 1 Tbsp seeded mustard

Method

  1. In a frying pan, add 2 Tbsp oil and fry the garlic and shallots on low heat until golden brown. Add coconut cream, stock and salt.
  2. In a baking dish, layer the thinly sliced potatoes and pour the coconut stock onto them. Bake at 180C for 25-30 min, until cooked, golden brown and creamy. Set aside and let it rest for 20-30 min before serving. In that time, the potatoes will absorb the remaining broth and the gratin becomes even more creamy and easier to slice.
  3. In a bowl, mix fennel with 1 Tbsp pickling liquid and 1 Tbsp seeded mustard.
  4. Pan-fry the Wagyu just until nicely seared and the fat melted. DO NOT overcook as well done steak will not match the wine as well as medium.