Max Lake was a Sydney surgeon with a great love of wine. With his wine friends they enjoyed the great French wines, particularly those from Bordeaux which are made from Cabernet. In 1963 he set out to make wine and the nearest district was the Hunter Valley. The climate is remarkable different to Bordeaux though it is agreed the resulting wines were a great success.
There is a myth that Cabernet is best when grown in a maritime climate like Bordeaux and an Australian equivalent is Margaret River. Yet as we know, and Lake confirmed, the genetic make-up of varieties allows them to make wines across a wide spectrum of climate.
This Goat Square from the classical vintage of 2021 confirms that Cabernet makes wines as great as the districts famous Shiraz in classical vintages. Indeed, the Cabernet wines of 2021 seem to have the edge over the 2021 Shiraz wines. So whether the Hunter Valley or the Barossa Valley or the Clare Valley, Cabernets can shine to reveal a different expression to those of cooler maritime localities.
