Australian Cabernet Showcase Under $45

Enjoy quality Australian Cabernet Sauvignon without breaking the bank. This carefully curated selection features expressive, well-balanced Australian Cabernet Sauvignons that deliver depth, character, and everyday enjoyment. Perfect for casual dinners, gatherings, or thoughtful gifting, this collection proves great wine doesn’t have to come at a premium price.

1 x Mojo Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 ~ Limestone Coast, Australia

93/100 Angus Hughson, Wine Pilot (2018 vintage)
Bronze - Stuart Knox, The Real Review (2018 vintage)


Winemaker "Welcome to the rugged Limestone Coast, where it's cool climate delivers anatural freshness that can't be beaten. A hero region for Cabernet Sauvignon, think old style meets new. This is all kinds of delicious.''

Mojo work with growers across South Australia to create a range of wines that capture the unique characteristics of each region and varietal. Free from the constraint of owning their own vineyards they believe they are able to make wines that each have their own unique story. Each harvest Mojo use the best grapes of the season in each region.

The Limestone Coast is a renowned wine region located in the southeastern part of South Australia, Australia. It is named after the unique limestone soils that characterize the area and contribute to the distinctive terroir of the region. The Limestone Coast is known for producing high-quality wines, particularly reds and whites, and it's divided into several subregions, each with its own microclimate and specialties.

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.

1 x Plantagenet Three Lions Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 - Mt. Barker, Western Australia

92/100 Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
92/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
Bronze - Huon Hooke, The Real Review

5 Stars - Halliday Wine Companion

Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot "The Cabernet from this very early vintage had plenty of punch and it’s been captured beautifully in this generous medium-weight wine from the Great Southern. Ripe blackcurrant and tobacco leaf aromas with lifted bright cherry and red currant notes. Neatly integrated palate with supple tannins and fine-grained oak. Traces of coffee grinds and dark chocolate with even a hint of orange rind completes an excellent value quality Cabernet."

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit "It's attractively lifted on the nose, showing dark berry, dried herb, floral and nutmeg aromas. The palate displays juicy fruit intensity together with rounded mouthfeel and beautifully-pitched acidity, finishing lingering and pleasingly dry."

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Medium red with barely any purple tint remaining, the bouquet is all about spent coffee grounds and nori/peaty/dried seaweed, while the medium weight palate has a masses of tannins and a little bitterness."

Winemaker "Maroon hue, accompanied by the sweet red-berried fruit and the pleasant herbaceous tobacco leaf character. A hint of oak-derived toffy adds a delightful touch. On the palate, the red fruits shine through, layered with a tannin profile. The 14% Merlot addition smoothes the tannins, offering a luxurious mouthfeel."

86% Cabernet, 14% Merlot.

Western Australian winery, Plantagenet is acclaimed internationally for its consistently highly-awarded, quality wines produced from its five vineyards located in the cool climate region of the Great Southern. It is known for its highly aromatic riesling, tangy citrus-tinged chardonnay, exceptional Rhône-style shiraz and superb cabernet sauvignon. The five estate vineyards are overseen by Chief Viticulturist Jordan Ellis whose philosophy is sustainability and remaining true to the terroir of the region.

The Real Review "Plantagenet is a pioneer of the Great Southern region of Western Australia with vineyards first planted in 1986 and the first commercial winery established in the region. Celebrated for its rich heritage, the winery was until recently owned the Lionel Samson family, the oldest family owned business in Western Australia established in Fremantle in 1829. Plantagenet has five vineyards in the Mount Barker sub region each with the unique characteristics, ancient soils and a cool maritime climate creating expressive wines of provenance, quality & prestige. "

James Halliday, Halliday Australian Wine Companion "Plantagenet has honed its flagship varieties into a distinct Great Southern wine style; a depth of lively flavour, seamless elegance and natural purity"

Winemakers who work in cooler-climate growing regions, both in the Old World and New World, tend to call their wines Syrah. The most famous examples come from the northern Rhône Valley of France, notably Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. In the New World, in regions like Sonoma Coast, California; Yarra Valley, Australia; and parts of Chile, the wines are called Syrah because they emulate the leaner, acid-driven, savory styles of the Old World French classics.

2 x McHenry Hohnen Rocky Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ~ Margaret River, Western Australia

Bronze - The Real Review, Gabrielle Poy
Commended - The Real Review, Gabrielle Poy (2018 vintage)

5 Stars - McHenry Hohnen Vintners (2018 vintage)
5-Stars winery - James Halliday (2018 vintage)

Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition 2024
Commended - International Wine Challenge (2010 vintage)

"Halliday Wine Companion - Australian Winery of the Year 2022 & 2023"

International Wine & Spirit Competition "Complex, with enticing aromas of red and blue fruit, intertwined with savoury, meaty tones. Vibrant on the palate, offering more crunchy red fruits, blueberries, and polished tannins. Delicate yet powerful, culminating in a long, pleasing finish. Marvellous!"

The Real Review, Gabrielle Poy "Milk chocolate, blackcurrant and sweet spices on the nose lead to a juicy core of fruit and spice. It's elegantly styled with a welcoming immediacy that's hard to resist. Bitter chocolate tannins peter out on the finish."

Cabernet Sauvignon (62%), Merlot (20%), Malbec (10%) and Petit Verdot (8%)

Founded by one of the pioneers of the Margaret River winemaking region, David Hohnen and his brother in law, Murray McHenry, an accomplished fine wine retailer. Both have been making wine in Margaret River since the early 1970’s. McHenry Hohnen vineyards are 100% biodynamic. Their three unique vineyards (Burnside, Calgardup and Hazel’s) produce wines that are a reflection of the land. McHenry Hohnen focusses on crafting site-expressive wines and are known for producing some of the region's best wines.

Margaret River is one of the best-known wine regions in Australia, recognized internationally for the quality of its wines and the natural beauty of the region. Although originally renowned for its unusually refined Cabernet Sauvignon and intensely citrusy Chardonnay varieties, the region now produces Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends and Shiraz.

Located in the south-western corner of Western Australia, it is famous for having a more 'European' wine style than its counterparts across Australia, owing to the regions temperate, coastal location which is very similar to that of Bordeaux.

1 x Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Red Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot 2021 ~ Hunter Valley, Australia

92/100 Nick Butler, The Real Review (2017 vintage)
91/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage)

5 Star Winery - James Halliday

The Winemaker "Aromas of red cherry, spice and sweet oak. Mid-weight palate with some Cabernet Sauvignon cedar up front that leads to soft Shiraz richness. The oak regime is mainly older American and French so limited impact although some vanillin on both nose and palate with a long sweet finish. Excellent fruit flavours and balance being the features that will be maintained under the screw cap packaging"

The Winemaker "Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot South Eastern Australia Berry/leafy aromas are to the fore, due to the wine being almost two thirds Cabernet Sauvignon. A beautiful deep colour with youthful tints. Ripe Cabernet fruit complimented by the spice and plushness of the Shiraz component. Fine long tannins and acid line will see this age well over the medium term. A lovely drinking wine as always."

Another perennial Best Buy from the iconic Brokenwood Winery established by Australia's leading wine critic, James Halliday. If you are looking for a red wine that is outside the typical "BIG" Australian style, this wine is for you, with its food friendly drinkability, lower alcohol at 13.5% and a middle weight structure, it pretty well works with any meal.

The wine continues to show why it's one of Australia's favourite value red wines and consistently is a top medal and point winner year in and out. Great value!

James Halliday ~ "At 40+ years young, Brokenwood Wines, in the heart of the Hunter Valley, can lay claim to not only an iconic vineyard with the Graveyard Vineyard but to the preservation of a wine fraternity that proudly has as its mission statement, ‘to make great wine and have fun’."

Established in 1970 Brokenwood Wines is one of Australia's most reputable premium wine labels and a must-visit in the Hunter Valley. It was established by Australia's leading wine critic, James Halliday. Consistently listed as a 5-star winery, Brokenwood is home to the famous Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, the highly acclaimed ILR Reserve Semillon, and the popular Cricket Pitch Range.

The Hunter Valley is the best-known and most highly prized wine region in New South Wales. It is known as the region where the Australian wine industry started. The valley's winemakers have pioneered two distinctive styles of wine (oaked Chardonnay and dry Semillon) and has retained a strong connection with both of them. The Hunter Valley's most famous wine style is its distinctive dry Semillon, made there since the 1870s. Hunter Valley Semillons are renowned for their ability to improve with age.

Shiraz is the name given to the dark-skinned Syrah grape when grown in Australia and selected pockets of the New World. Though genetically identical, the stylistic differences between Shiraz and Syrah are usually pronounced.

1 x Patrick of Coonawarra Methode Cabernet Eucalypt 2021 ~ Coonawarra ~ South Australia

93/100 Mike Bennie
91/100 Q Wine
Bronze - Erin Larkin
Bronze - Huon Hooke

Mike Bennie "It’s such a compelling wine, you hound the glass, yes, eucalyptus is distinct, almost resinous to taste, but cabernet fruit and tannin are up to task and it feels like serious seasoning rather than gimmick. Peppermint, plum, tense sheath of tannin, pepper, dark chocolate jostle with that gum leaf seasoning. Texture is superb, length is too. Not a curio, a fantastic expression."

Erin Larkin "...This is certainly leafy, minty cabernet, and the power of suggestion is strong – I am literally searching for eucalypt. It is inchoate, berry laden and nice, .. Packaged in a cool squat bottle, sealed under diam and colourful wax. Grapes planted within 50m of a row of gum trees were harvested, pressed with stems and wild fermented. Basket pressed and transferred to old oak puncheons. The theory was to test the hypothesis that vineyards amongst gumtrees uptake the aroma and character of their environment."

Huon Hooke "Very deep, dark colour with purple and black tints, the bouquet sweetly gumleafy and lifted, the palate again minty and it has that slightly raw edge of minty wines. The wine is intended to showcase the eucalyptus character and make a feature of it, and it succeeds. The tannins are light but somewhat firm; the fruit is front and centre."

Winemaker "The eucalypt flavour this year is quite pronounced when you first smell it, but then quickly develops into a luscious cherry raspberry character. You pick up the hint of eucalypt, then the fruit flavours come through after that. Méthode Eucalypt has more acidity this year than it did in 2020. I think it is overall better balanced, with the fruit, acidity and alcohol in quite a good balance with the eucalyptus a little more in the background. It is slightly lower alcohol, and feels softer and perhaps a bit more savoury to me. It reminds me a lot of a Grenache with that spicy drinking red fruit character. I’m really excited about it."

Boutique Wine Show "Balanced minty/Eucalyptus aromas and flavours add to the Cabernet Sauvignon’s complexity, creating a uniquely Australian wine. It is a wine that expresses terroir in the true sense of the word."

Patrick's of Coonawarra was founded by Patrick Tocaciu; one of Australia's leading wine (and AFL football) figures. Patrick's reputation for producing exceptional wine earned him many international accolades for the major labels he worked as Chief Winemaker, including; Tollana, Penfolds, and Hollick Wines. Patrick's distinguished reputation continued with the establishment of his own Patrick of Coonawarra Estate label. The wines are built on the solid foundation of extensive estate vineyards: 36 hectares in Coonawarra and 42 hectares in Wrattonbully. The Wrattonbully plantings contain shiraz, sauvignon blanc, and some of the riesling. All of the cabernet is grown in Coonawarra. The Estate is now managed by his eonologist son, Luke who continues the tradition of producing wines of varietal and regional excellence.

Coonawarra is the most important wine region within the Limestone Coast zone of South Australia, credited with producing some of the best red wines in the country, and often described as Australia's most famous terroir. The region's prime Terra Rossa land, which has a reddish-brown topsoil over a thick layer of soft limestone, covers a narrow strip only 12 kilometres long. The reddish colour of the soil is caused by iron-oxide (rust) formations in the clay. Vineyards on this soil benefit from good drainage and nutrient-holding capacity. It is known for the Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced on its "terra rossa" soil. Coonawarra is an Aboriginal word meaning "Honeysuckle". It is about 380 km southeast of Adelaide, close to the border with Victoria.