Re: Hither
Laverne Levenstein
93 points, Sam Kim, Wine Orbit:
"It's immediately appealing on the nose with dark cherry, smoked game, olive and spicy oak characters. The palate delivers excellent weight and silky flow, wonderfully framed by fine grainy tannins, making it sturdy and robust with a persistent enticing finish. At its best: now to 2033."
87 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
"Ascendancy is incremental here, with small details improved each year. Hand picked, a longer maceration, a judicious meld of whole berries, crushed material and a dollop of whole bunches, and larger French oak, noted. A mid ruby. Notes of tobacco leaf, sour red fruits and verdant herb. Seems to have been picked on acidity, rather than ripeness. Decent drinking, but better with more weight and ripeness."
91 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
"Plenty of spices on the nose, such as cinnamon and anise, with ripe plum and blood orange, as well as berry biscuit and brown tea. The palate has fine but assertive tannins that have been gently cut to deliver a crisp finish with bright red-cherry flavor. "
90 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
"Hand picked and fermented with 10% each whole berries and whole bunches. Brooding, compact and forceful. Reliant on a phalanx of tobacco-crusted tannins, both as homage to great Campanian expressions as much as a savoury lance, fending off excess. Damson plum, cherry pith, mint and agrodolce scents. "
91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW:
"Good-drinking cabernet at the price. Jubey, relatively soft and easygoing, without being anodyne. The extraction of 16 days seems deft in lieu of the bright attack, tannic detail and lithe, crunchy finish. Red-fruit aspersions, some garden herb and green-olive notes round out the package."
91 points, James Suckling 2021, Nick Stock:
"Aromas of redcurrants and cassis with black cherries, as well as leaves and forest wood. Some florals, too. The palate comes filled with fine tannins that carry plenty of red and dark-berry flavors. Fresh, mid-weight style."
94 points , The Real Review, Huon Hooke:
"Deep red colour with a strong purple tint. The bouquet is reserved but fresh and cabernet-berry-ish, with a lovely core of fruit sweetness at the centre surrounded by abundant soft tannins. The palate is full-bodied and elegantly cast, with classic cabernet structure and firm tannins completing the picture. The finish is refreshing. This looks to have a bright future. An excellent cabernet and astounding value."
91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin MW:
"Stock-standard regional cabernet for those seeking a full-bodied red with few surprises. This oozes mint, dried sage, bitter chocolate and cassis scents, all slung over a frame of French oak and fuzzy tannins."
Reviews of 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon:
91 points, James Suckling:
"Aromas of graphite, cassis and mint as well as mulberries and forest leaves. The palate has a very rich, intense core of dark cherries, blackberries and cassis. Bold, drinkable style."
Reviews of 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon:
Gold Medal at the CWSA 2017,
James Halliday, August 2018, 93 points and red value star, www.winecompanion.com.au
"A supremely honest McLarne Vale Cabernet, with warm blackcurrant fruit and a cache of dark chocolate, alongsidey the tannins that will emerge with age."
June 2017. Gary Walsh - The Wine Front. 92 points. www.winefront.com.au
"Dark fruit, chocolate, a sweet dried herb lift, almost a Dutch liquorice thing too, which I love. Medium bodied, good depth to the fruit, though not heavy either, with oak in the back seat, and drinking pleasure at the wheel. Finish has a Cabernet accent, in with a gentle herbal seasoning, and no shortage of length. So well done."
May 2017. Mike Bennie - Wine Business Magazine. 93 points. www.wbmonline.com.au
"This release from the creative set at Hither & Yon strikes a chord. Theres a generosity to the wine, it reeks of dark plums, mocha, green herbs, dried fruits and the palate takes a similar path. The distinction here is that the flavours find a brightness even with the weight of deep, dark fruit character, and oak seasons rather than smothers. Generosity reigns well here."
Reviews of 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon:
August 2016. James Halliday - Wine Companion. 91 Points. www.winecompanion.com.au
"Definitive cabernet aromas hold sway, regional influence playing its part and oak chiming in. Evenly flavoured on the palate, the typical firm cabernet structure in good balance with the typical McLaren Vale generosity."
August 2016. Gary Walsh. 91 points. www.winefront.com.au
"Has a pleasant, jubey sort of Throaties perfume, blackcurrant, blackberry and the like, with subtle spiced oak. Medium bodied, again a little jubey, but nicely done with gummy grippy tannin, freshness and energy, and a cool earthy and black olive laced finish of pleasing length. Very nice."
Wine Enthusiast (USA). March 2016. 91 points.
The pitch black wine has a thin dark ruby rim.The attractive and forward nose smells of cassis, sweet spices, sugarcoated walnuts and dates. The palate layers on baked blackberries, pencil lead and dried figs. Moderately long on the finish, this wine is feisty, and youthful. Its strucutre of lightly strappy tannins, brisk acidity and its wealth of well proportioned aromas and flavours point to ageing potential. Drink now through to 2020.
Stuart Robinson. August 2015. 90 points. www.thevinsomniac.com
"There's just something about the Hither & Yon wines, be it visual appeal, relative ease on the pocket, approachability without sacrificing varietal character. Consistent. That too. Cherry ripe-esque: mass of fruit over chocolate, without eschewing varietal character. Per the Hither & Yon style, a wine of easy going nature; medium-bodied elegance, suggestion of blueberry and bright fruit in general. So easy - and pleasurable - to drink, not an easy feat to achieve."
90 points, MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator, December 2023:
"This has a wonderful energy to the core of red fruit flavors, including wild strawberry, cranberry and maraschino cherry. Reveals hints of clove-heavy chai tea that are supple, juicy and plush on the long finish. Drink now."
92 points, James Halliday Companion, Ned Goodwin MW:
"Grapes like this excite me. They are torrid and equipped with natural astringency and bright acidity, something that most traditional grapes in these parts lack. And? The wines have tension, detail and the savoury sort of lattice between fruit and finish that is required for a second glass. This is handled orchestrally. Red fruits, thyme, rosemary and scrub. A deft approach to gentle extraction that renders character without carignan's facility for hardness. Simple. Perhaps. But a tattoo of crushable drinkability reads 'thrills with a chill'."
91 points, Halliday Companion 2022, Ned Goodwin:
"I can't think of many varieties better suited to the dry Mediterranean climate of McLaren Vale. Able to withstand torrid conditions while embedding its wines with a wiry cage of tannin and bright acidity, carignan is one of many tickets into the future. This producer champions plenty of others. A partial wild fermentation and short levage in older French wood intuits promise: cherry pith, thyme, mint, liquorice. The tannins, as expected. Thrills with a chill."
91 points, The Real Review, Huon Hooke:
"Bright, medium to deep red/purple colour. The nose is savoury, earthy as well as plummy, dark fruits driving the wine. A hint of pepper. Medium to full-bodied, abundant tannins which are powdery and supple. Some chocolate. Good drinking already and will take some age."
91 points, James Suckling:
"This has red-flower and leafy aromas, as well as some earthy nuances. Vibrant raspberries and tart red cherries. Succulent appealingly fresh raspberries and redcurrants on the palate with fine, crisp tannins."
Embark on a delicious adventure with our new mixed pack, De La Vale. This curated selection features a stunning range of wines, each crafted from celebrated Italian grape varietals and flourishing in the sun-drenched soils of McLaren Vale. Very food friendly for Mediterranean dishes, year-round.
This golden hued beauty boasts hints of straw, tangerine, white jasmine and caraway, with the flavours of summer; ginger, apple and pear, briny and waxy, grapefruit pith, fine tannin grip, limey acidity, saline and refreshing. Mouth-watering and perfect for warm weather and sharing with friends.
As pretty as it is tasty, this bright-purple blend is lively and succulent with plenty of grip and fresh acidity. Red berry fruits on Grenache Mataro 2021 take centre stage, complemented by a savoury earthiness. It'll age well and is sure to be a big hit around the dinner table once it's opened.
Juicy, delicious and ready to drink now, this beauty has ripe red berry fruits, root spices and rose petals bursting from the glass. The palate is smooth and layered, with supple tannins and an earthy finish that make for a charming, fruit-driven wine that pairs well with tomato-based dishes.
Plenty of red fruits to be enjoyed here including cherry and raspberry with a lovely lightness across the palate. There's a savoury edge to the wine, with an earthiness led by pine needles and herbs, making for absolutely wonderful drinking at the moment.
97 points, Decanter, David Sly, January 2024:
"Much is suggested on a vivacious nose, but beneath soft and cuddly red-fruited flavours, lean and powerful dark fruit muscle flexes in the mid-palate. A whole cohesive package. Very elegant and sinewy for a wine with such a deliberate drive at its core. One to contemplate. 10% whole bunch, matured 13 months in three-year-old 400-litre French oak puncheons."