Mollydooker Maître D' Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 | McLaren Vale & Langhorne Creek

Mollydooker Maître D' Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a generous, deeply flavoured South Australian Cabernet drawn from five carefully selected vineyards across McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek. Named after winemaker Sparky Marquis — who put himself through winemaking college working as a left-handed waiter — the Maître D' has always been a wine of warmth, character and unmistakable Mollydooker generosity.

Tasting Notes

The 2023 opens with bright blackberry and a soft, inviting note of milk chocolate, deepening into gentle herbal aromatics that speak to the cooler Langhorne Creek fruit in the blend. On the palate, plum and blackberry carry through with layers of cigar box and mocha cream adding complexity and depth. The tannins are subtle and well-integrated, the oak fragrant rather than dominant — a wine that is plush, generous and thoroughly enjoyable from the moment it is opened.

Vineyard & Origin

The 2023 Maître D' is sourced from four McLaren Vale vineyards — Coppermine Road, Long Gully Road, Ryan Road and Gateway — alongside the Joppich Vineyard in Langhorne Creek, which contributes freshness, lifted fruit and structural refinement to the blend. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, finished with 86% American oak and 14% French oak. 14.5% ABV. 0.5 g/L residual sugar. pH 3.62.

About Mollydooker

Mollydooker is a McLaren Vale winery founded by Sparky and Sarah Marquis — two left-handed winemakers (Mollydooker is Australian slang for left-hander) with a passion for big, generous, fruit-forward wines. Their commitment to vineyard quality and the Marquis family's own viticulture philosophy underpins every wine in the range.

Pairs With

Slow-roasted lamb shoulder, beef short ribs, chargrilled rib-eye, braised game, and aged cheddar — a generous, fruit-forward Cabernet built for substantial food.