FOX GORDON King Louis Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Bottle per case: 12

The King Louis Cabernet Sauvignon is another exciting new label from the Fox Gordon Winery in the Barossa Valley.  Barossa cabernets invariably feature the warmth and generosity of the local Shiraz as well as their inherent strength and longevity. When compared to the classic Coonawarra’s, they are softer and smoother, with a more supple fleshy palate and ripe, mellow tannins, which enhance their ready drinkability.

They usually show an enticing chocolate aroma along with sweet spice and ripe dark berries. Because full ripening is rarely a problem in the kindly climate, Barossa cabernets almost never feature the green, herbaceous traces, which appear in many wines from cooler regions.  Among the better testaments to the value of Barossa cabernet over time have been Charles Melton, Elderton, Greenock Creek, Peter Lehmann, Rockford, Seppelt's Dorrien and Yalumba.

Fox Gordon hereby gives notice it has entered the lists with an excellent expression of an under-rated regional style.

Natasha Mooney, formerly of Barossa Valley Estates and clearly among the hottest talents in Australian winemaking, is one of three partners in Fox Gordon and the 2002 King Louis Cabernet Sauvignon & Hannah’s Swing Shiraz are the winery’s inaugural releases.  This is another marvelous wine from a venture that has ‘cult producer’ written all over it.

As winemaker at Barossa Valley Estates, Natasha Mooney was for a number of years the face behind E&E Black Pepper Shiraz, one of the flag-bearers that led the Australian quality wine assault on the U.S. market.  E&E is one of a handful of Barossa reds that has enjoyed almost universal endorsement from international commentators on both sides of the Atlantic.  The 1996 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz was named Best Shiraz and Best Red Wine at London’s 1999 International Wine Challenge.  With 6000 entries and rigorous judging procedures the Challenge is far and away the world’s most highly regarded international wine competition.  America’s influential Wine Spectator magazine had the 1996 E&E Black Pepper in its top 10 wines for 1999, scoring it at 97out of 100.