Lake Breeze Arthur's Reserve 2017

Australians drive for miles to get their hands on Lake Breeze’s wines. And little wonder. Along with its huge stack of awards (150+ gold medals and 42 trophies—and counting!), Lake Breeze has been received a 5-red-star rating from and been named Australia’s Best Value Winery by leading critic James Halliday. He writes:

“The Follett family are fabulous ambassadors for an oft-neglected region and embody the heart and soul that we all love about Australian winemaking. It’s a bonus that their wines also happen to represent the best value in the country.”

The whole story started back in the 1880s, when Arthur Follett planted the first vines on the family property. Fourth-generation winemaker Greg Follett—aka “one of the unsung heroes of Australian wine,” says critic Huon Hooke—leads the estate today. He crafted Arthur’s Reserve in honor of his late great-grandfather.

The previous release won two coveted trophies (Royal Sydney Wine Show and Langhorne Creek Wine Show) and a 95-point score from James Halliday. He raved, “This wine effortlessly lays out the road map for great Cabernet in the making to follow, luscious, yet firmly structured and well balanced.”

And we think the 2017 release is every bit as impressive. After selecting the finest old-vine Cabernet (along with a small portion of inky-dark Petit Verdot and juicy Malbec) from the family’s best Langhorne Creek vineyards, Greg treated the wine to 20 months in new French oak barrels. The result? Layers of deliciously rich, black-fruit flavor plus intriguing, toasty vanilla-spice notes.

Greg only made 250 cases of this gorgeous Cabernet Reserve. Better be quick to secure your share.