Red Bordeaux blends are not necessarily, as the name implies, red blends from Bordeaux. Rather, it’s a term used for wines that (regardless of their origin) are modelled on the traditional style of this French region and made from its five key varieties: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot.
Like their inspiration, these wines are usually either cabernet or merlot dominant, with malbec and petit verdot – and very occasionally, carménère – used sparingly to add colour and spice.
Most Bordeaux wines are blends; however, it’s not a requirement of the appellation, with the highly revered Pétrus, made from 100 per cent merlot in Pomerol on the Right Bank, a notable exception to the practice. But even though it’s much more common for these grapes to be used in straight varietal wines (and labelled as such) in Australia, the strength of association between these varieties and their native region still puts them, consciously or not, in similar categories.
Explore the style further through the 10 wines below, made with either a blend of Bordeaux varieties or as single varietals, from some of Australia’s top producers including Yarra Yering, Cullen, Briar Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Kay Brothers, Ross Hill Wines, and Trentham Estate.
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Bordeaux wines to try
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Yarra Yering
Dry Red Wine No. 1 2023
Yarra Valley2026 Cabernet & Blends of the Year. Score awarded by the Halliday tasting panel at the annual Awards judging. PR writes: A blend of 58/23/15/4% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/malbec/petit verdot, the cabernet coming from the original '69-planted vineyard. Matured in barrique (35% new). A deep, bright purple. Classic cool-climate cabernet aromas of black cherry, blackcurrants, cedar, licorice and subtle iodine. The palate is simultaneously concentrated, structured and refined, finishing with an ironstone minerality. Approachable now with food, but anyone who buys some will want to make sure they still have a bottle, or three, 10 to 15 years from now. -
Cullen Wines
Legacy Series Diana Madeline Wilyabrup 2023
Margaret RiverDon’t be confused. There are two Diana Madeline releases off the ’23 vintage, this the new addition and part of the Legacy Series. And the longer name is Full Moon Opposite Saturn Harvest because the 70% cabernet, with 30% malbec, is off the first pick when the constellations are in that order; co-fermented then aged 15 months in French barriques, 33% new. All that to say, this is both powerful and yet full of elegance. Beautiful fruit marries well with the oak, all superbly integrated. The palate is more mid-weighted, with plentiful yet fine tannins, and finishes persuasively and lingeringly. This is something else; a special wine. -
Cullen Wines
Diana Madeline Wilyabrup 2023
Margaret RiverThis Diana Madeline delights as soon as it's poured. A deep, dark purple-red and so vibrant. Ah the aromas next – all cedar wood, oak spices and warm earth with fresh mulberries and blackberry essence. It has concentrated, fabulous fruit on the fuller-bodied palate yet there’s a fineness, too, with supple tannins enmeshed in lively acidity. It’s a gorgeous drink. Too young now as it’s still showing off its youthful exuberance. Give this a few more years in the cellar to build more complexity and detail; it's guaranteed to age beautifully for another two or so decades. -
Clarendon Hills
Sandown Cabernet Sauvignon 2024
McLaren ValeFrom vines planted in 1930 to the Reynella clone in Blewitt Springs. This unwraps over days, like many Clarendon Hills wines, though perhaps more so than any in this vintage There are some high notes of fresh thyme, sage, mint and hedgerow, along with cigar tobacco and cedar over a core of blackberry, blackcurrant and wild raspberry, which melt into a darkly mineral core, the drive of acid and robust linear tannins auguring for a long life ahead. It’s an excellent release, but a year or two of cool slumber is advised before broaching, though the pleasure will still flow with half a day in a decanter. -
Briar Ridge Vineyard
Limited Release BDX 2023
Wrattonbully75/11/8/6% cabernet sauvignon/cabernet franc/malbec/petit verdot. A nicely composed, youthful blend with an impressively even flow of flavour and excellent fruit density. Beautifully fragrant, with pure aromas of blackcurrant and freshly crushed leaves, creating an aura of freshness and class. The palate is supported by a cradle of papery tannins and has all the right proportions for successful ageing. -
Kay Brothers
Cuthbert Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
McLaren ValeReleased in top vintages, which, for winemaker Duncan Kennedy, are generally the cooler ones, with this registering at 13% alcohol. Ageing was in French hogsheads. A cooler year, yes, and modest abv, but this has neatly poised ripeness, capturing mulberry, forest berries, blue and black, while also feeding in some blackcurrant leaf, hedgerow and violet. Medium in weight, with pencil-shaving/graphite, dry tobacco, iodine and cedar notes, the tannins aptly linear, some sweet spice expanding through the finish. It’s a fine example of an often underappreciated grape in the region. -
Ross Hill Wines
Pinnacle Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2024
OrangeCrimson, inky and adorned with cassis and Ribena. Base notes of clove, coffee grounds and ivy. The vitality continues with succulent acidity and sandy, enduring tannins. The team has done a beautiful job with ripening fruit and stems, and has made considered decisions about oak – a hammock of support for the future. This has some creamy mocha on the mid-palate and the structure to age well over the next decade. -
Ross Hill Wines
Pinnacle Series Cabernet Franc 2024
OrangeCabernet franc has always been the shining star of Ross Hill, and since Chris Jessop took over winemaking, a return to fruit- and site-first has been well played. A myriad of blue fruits, acaí, stewed blueberries, and granitic soil and pencil lead. The palate offers bright red fruit, pomegranate and raspberries, with a sensation of finely sewn tannins. You'll find yourself marvelling at its moreish and substantially lively acid line and asking for more before you know what hit you. This is medium-bodied, fresh cabernet franc and a unique expression of the Orange region's cool climate. -
Cullen Wines
Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2024
Margaret RiverExploding with all the overt fruit flavours and vibrancy of youth. Ideally, come back to this in a couple of years when all has settled and it’s showing more depth. If you can’t wait, it’s brimming with cassis, mulberries and blackcurrants doused in woodsy spices, cedary sweet oak and fresh herbs; a touch of warm earth, too. Mid-weighted, supple, refreshing and energetic with detailed tannins; it’s a tad raw, but all that will resolve itself in time. -
Trentham Estate
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2024
CoonawarraSeven day fermentation, pressed, 13 months' maturation in French and American oak. Strong in deep purple colour and equally strong in varietal intensity, this well-priced wine has all the hallmarks of a quality young cabernet. Shows enticing, ripe dark cherry, cassis and blackberry with Coonawarra bush mint, earth, dry leaves, licorice, light mocha and spice. Tannins are firm, and the sturdy structure of the wine definitely suggests further cellaring time will be amply rewarded.
Top image credit: Kirsten Cunningham – Ross Hill Wines
