The Benbournie is Jim Barry's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, only released in vintages judged worthy of the name. The fruit comes from a single vineyard on the McRae Wood property in the Clare Valley, planted by Jim Barry himself in 1964 on red-brown earth over limestone. The site is named after a former settlement that once sat between Clare and Blyth.
This Museum Release is the 2014 vintage held back at the winery and aged for around a decade before release, giving collectors a chance to taste a fully developed Clare Valley Cabernet. Time in bottle has softened the youthful primary fruit and brought forward the savoury, brick-edged complexity that defines mature Australian Cabernet.
The wine is pointed and structured, with red and blackcurrant fruit threaded through dried sage, garden herb and spearmint, and a finish marked by bitter chocolate, baking spice and fine-grained tannin. A snapshot of one of Australia's most pedigreed Cabernet sites at peak drinking.
Vintages may vary. Email us at hello@barrelandbatch.com.au if you would like confirmation.