• French oak
• Autumnal aromas
• Mouth-filling
• Fine tannins

"Deep red with purple in the rim; a complex bouquet of cedar, cigarbox, cassis and flake tobacco, the palate full bodied and elegant, stately and savoury, with abundant fine-grained and insistent tannins and driving length. A very elegant, suave kind of cabernet, and true to its Yarra origins. It's delicious now but has an assured future if cellared" Huon Hooke, Real Review, Feb 2023

"Melba Amphora Cabernet Sauvignon. It was only a few years ago, in reference to a premium Margaret River Cabernet matured in amphora, that I stated we had no blueprint for premium Cabernet matured in amphora. We do now, which makes this wine so much easier to understand. The tannins in this 2021 Melba Amphora Cabernet Sauvignon are rounded and mineral, with a splay of fruit that spills outward from the finish. "Fresh, fine and floral" describes this wine, which will no doubt age more gracefully than many may expect. It's lovely and supple and will bring new Cabernet drinkers to the table. This spent four months on skins in 1,000-liter amphorae, before pressing off skins, and then a return for a further six months' maturation" The Wine Advocate, Nov 2022

Bright, medium red. Haunting, ethereal, scented autumnal aromas. Mouth-filling flavours, quite supple, fine tannin, gentle, earthen and complex.

The De Bortoli ‘Melba Vineyard’ at Dixons Creek has a rich history of exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon dating back to the 1970’s. The 'Melba' brand pays tribute to renowned operatic soprano diva, Dame Nellie Melba with three premium Cabernet Sauvignons; Melba Vineyard, Melba Amphora and Melba Reserve.

First planted in 1971 with additional plantings in 1987, 1988 and 1990. For over 30 years, the best parcels of Cabernet have been carefully managed to produce grapes with full concentrated flavour and fine tannins.

Excellent growing season, mild and dry autumn, lots of tannin development built in the last 2 weeks of ripening.

Fruit is hand-picked, meticulously sorted and destemmed to 1,000 L amphoras. The skins are hand-plunged during fermentation, the amphora is topped and the wine sat quietly for 120 days, soaking up colour from the skins and softening the tannin. The fruit and wine were removed from the amphora, pressed from the skins and then matured for a further 150 days in amphora and older French oak. The wine is then gravity racked, settled and bottled.