2011 Meteor Cabernet Sauvignon Perseid

(alcohol just below 14%): Bright red-ruby. Complex, stylish nose combines red berries, licorice and herbs. Juicy, spicy and perfumed, offering lovely inner-mouth definition to its pretty berry flavors. Not underripe in spite of its unusually low alcohol: I could easily get used to this style. Finishes with substantial dusty tannins and good length. "The 2011 will always be about nose and structure," noted Dawnine Dyer. This Perseid release includes the fruit that would normally have gone into the estate's flagship wine, as Dyer felt the vintage lacked density and polish.

Meteor's 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Perseid jumps from the glass with sweet scents of tobacco, leather, spices, dried cherries and underbrush. Intense, layered and expressive, the 2011 stands out for its balance, personality and class. Overall, the 2011 is a delicate Perseid, and the wine needs time to fully come together, but it is impressive all the same.

(the 13.7% alcohol is the lowest to date for a cabernet from this producer): Good medium-deep red. Cooler on the nose than the 2010s, offering redcurrant, mint and tobacco leaf aromas. Red berry, mint and spice flavors show lovely definition but come across as a bit ungiving today owing to slightly edgy acidity. Less fleshy and pliant than the 2010 Perseid. There will be no Special Family Reserve bottling in 2011: the estate's clone 7 cabernet was declassified into this wine.