2017 Mother's Ruin Cabernet Sauvignon

"Impressive for the purity and intensity of the blueberry, wild strawberry and framboise flavors, this red is fresh and juicy, with green tea, black pepper and fresh loamy accents, plus spice and tobacco grace notes, on a smooth frame. Drink now through 2030"

90 points - Wine Spectator

94 points - James Halliday

This restrained, well balanced expression of McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon is an ode to the ‘luncheon claret’, but it’s not as green and austere as that favourite lunchtime libation at the gentleman’s club. Early picked fruit from a vineyard with good breeding in the Willunga foothills results in an elegant, varietal style with classic First Drop drinkability.

First Drop Winery was founded in 2004. Matt ‘Gantos’ Gant and John ‘JR’ Retsas, approached the world of fashionable wines with the serious desire to make wines to appreciate. They follow the philosophy that their wines should be open and approachable by everybody, requiring absolutely no knowledge to love.
Straightaway they knew they were torn between their love of typical Aussie styles (i.e Barossa Shiraz) and a love of diversity. hence their brilliant inclusion of Italian, Spanish and Portuguese grapes into their wines. This looking like too complex a decision to make – they decided to make both. To do this, they work with superb fruit from Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Barossa, selecting vineyards for different grapes after intense microclimate research.

Fast forward to now, they are one of the most vibrant and expressive wineries in Australia, and we are more than happy to be importing them again. From their superb Mother’s Milk and Mother’s Ruin benchmark Barossa wines, to the exciting and different Touriga-Nacional examples to the Italian stars using Nebbiolo and Montepulciano to great effect, there are wines here for everybody.