Heartland 2013 Directors' Cut Cabernet Sauvignon

I was all set to write about the excellent Heartland 2013 Directors' Cut Shiraz until I came upon the cabernet sauvignon from the same winery, same vintage, and enjoyed it even more. This is a top-quality cab sav from Langhorne Creek, where you'll find some of Australia's best wine bargains. This looks stylish and expensive - but delivers on only one of those two promises. It is an intense, dark and inky wine from the talented Ben Glaetzer, made from vines that are 40+ years old. It is almost impossibly flavoursome and assertive at 15% alcohol but handling it with ease. It spent 14 months in new French and American oak, but the wood is beautifully integrated. An impressive package and one that will almost certainly cellar well for a decade or more. $33. www.heartlandwines.com.au.