The Best From Down Under, 90+ Rated Wines

COLOUR:Medium density ruby

AROMATICS: Complex nose of black raspberry, cherry and savoury undertones of dry mocha and earthy notes.

PALATE: A torrent of blood plum and black cherry dance on the palate intertwined with savoury gamey flavours. The intensity of the fruit and savoury notes is well supported by a fine grain tannin and excellent acidity. A very well balanced palate with the potential to age.

CELLAR POTENTIAL: 10+ years

FOOD PAIRING: Smoked duck breast with roast beetroot and heirloom carrot.

VINTAGE CONDITIONS: Typical drops in temperature with bright and clear days. Cool clear nights and crisp dewy mornings maintained acid levels and enhanced the fruit aromatic. The wines show good intensity of flavour with good levels of acidity balancing the punchy fruit flavours across the spectrum. A long cool ripening period with little weather pressure has crafted a good vintage across the varietals.

COLOUR: Bright ruby

AROMATICS: Intense cassis and dried floral.

PALATE: Resolved tannins frame a dense vibrant core of berry fruit, hints of fresh tobacco and subtle earthy undertones. A very approachable youthful Cabernet with potential to age.

WINEMAKING: Parcels of fruit from the highest quality vineyards in the region were harvested and immediately destemmed into open top fermenters and inoculated with a cultured yeast. A combination of plunging and pumpovers twice daily allowed for gentle extraction of flavour and the finished wine was left in contact with the skins for a further period at the completion of ferment adding further complexity and weight. The pressed wine was transferred to French oak barrels (35% new) and matured for 16 months before filtration and bottling.

CELLAR POTENTIAL: 10+ years

FOOD PAIRING: Char-grilled Scotch Fillet with sage butter and roasted root vegetables.

VINTAGE CONDITIONS: A dry Winter and mild Spring was followed by a warm growing season with welcome rainfall in December and January leading to full, healthy canopies enabling excellent yields and great flavour development.

BLEND: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

AROMATICS: Aromas of blackberries, cassis, bay leaf, tobacco with notes of cedar and floral spicy oak.

PALATE: Intense palate of dark berries and brambled fruits (blackberry/blueberry). Dense yet fine, compact and intense in its youth with tar, graphite, spice and incredible concentration of phenolics (tannin). A wine of great depth, length and calibre with long term potential to age.

THE WINEMAKING: Separate parcels of machine harvest fruit were destemmed into open top fermenters without any chilling and then innoculated with a cultured yeast strain. Throughout fermentation, phenolic extraction was carefully managed with a combination of hand plunging and pumpovers 2-4 times daily. The finished wine was allowed to undergo extended maceration on skins for up to four weeks post-fermentation before being pressed to tank and racked to French barriques (28% new) for malolactic fermentation. Maturation for 16 months before blending, filtration and bottling.

VINTAGE CONDITIONS: A sublime vintage, conducive with all Great Southern varietals in expressing its own distinct regionality. Cool winter conditions followed by early spring rains ensured a saturated soil profile at the commencement of bud burst. Uniform vine growth resulted until November when the  warm dry conditions produced perfect flowering conditions. Temperatures remained warm and moderate up until March. Unseasonal high pressure systems dominated the maritime climate throughout March and April. This resulted in mild daily temperatures and cold nights. With no sign of rain, fruit was left to hang, developing flavour intensity. The fruit was thus picked at the winemaker’s whim.

FOOD PAIRING: Pot roasted lamb shanks, polenta and sprouts.