This vertical spans six vintages from 2012-2018, offering a rare opportunity to taste how Sunshine Creek's Ulysses Cabernet has evolved across different growing seasons. Vertical tastings allow you to understand how vintage variation, winemaking refinements, and bottle ageing influence the same wine's character over time. The collection includes both Cabernet Blend and pure Cabernet Sauvignon expressions, showcasing the producer's stylistic evolution during this period.

These wines are built for extraordinary longevity, with the producer confidently stating they 'will live forever'. Cool climate Cabernet from the Yarra Valley typically develops beautifully over 15-25 years, and these museum releases demonstrate their exceptional ageing potential. The older vintages (2012-2015) are entering their prime drinking window, while the 2017-2018 bottles will continue improving for decades with proper storage.

The 95-point Halliday rating reflects the exceptional quality achieved when these wines returned to domestic focus after years in international markets. Cool climate Cabernet from the Yarra Valley offers elegant structure, refined tannins, and complex flavour development that impressed critics. The combination of optimal vineyard sites, careful winemaking, and the region's ability to produce Cabernet with both power and finesse contributed to this outstanding recognition.

These full-bodied Cabernets showcase a sophisticated interplay of dark fruits like blackcurrant, black cherry, and plum, balanced by savoury earthiness and spice complexity. The oak integration adds structure without overwhelming the fruit, while notes of cranberry and raspberry provide brightness. As museum releases, expect developed tertiary flavours including leather, tobacco, and forest floor that emerge through careful ageing.

The earlier vintages feature Cabernet Blend, where small amounts of complementary varietals like Merlot or Cabernet Franc add complexity and soften the wine's structure. The 2018 vintage represents a pure Cabernet Sauvignon expression, showcasing the varietal's unblended character and the vineyard's terroir more directly. This evolution reflects the winemaker's growing confidence in their fruit quality and site expression over the vintage span.