Nose
starts with cassis and dark forest fruits with some briary touches moving to rich blackcurrant with notes of cedar.
Palate
forest fruits, wild mushroom and blackcurrant leaf on the palate. Well structured and poised.
Growing Conditions
Margaret River had an excellent vintage for both red and whites with little disease pressure. Winter/spring rainfall in the Margaret River was less than average, the biggest downpour of around 250mm in June. A significant weather event in late October/early November brought 100km winds and hail, which affected flowering, followed by more wild weather in early December, cumulatively resulting in significant crop losses (up to 40% down). January and February were hot and dry, then, March saw cooler conditions, which allows the tannins to ripen in sync with the fruit character. The Marri blossom was abundant therefore bird damage was minimal although we did net the reds.
Winemaking
The grapes were picked during the cool of the morning, sorted to remove berries that had not reach optimal ripeness, destemmed and placed in an open fermenter. Inoculated with a neutral yeast strain to retain pure fruit aromas and hand plunged up to four times a day, for 12 days. An additional 10 days on skins ensured further gentle extraction of colour and flavour and more complex tannins. The wine was then gently basket pressed direct to barrel for malolactic fermentation. Once racked the wine was then returned to 100% new French Barriques to mature for 16 months. Blended and bottled in November 2014 with the use of no fining agents to ensure fruit purity was retained. This exceptional wine can be enjoyed now; or will develop more complexity in the bottle with careful cellaring for up to 15+ years.
Appearance
Deep dark red.
