Nose
Red fruit, liquorice and glazed cherry aromas, accompanied by hints of cassis, tobacco leaf and bay.
Palate
Coating red and black fruit tannins on the entry, brought into line by a focused palate of blue fruits, cedar and violets. Finishes as it starts, coating and persistent.
Growing Conditions
Quality for the 2015 vintage was high, however yields were down across the region. In early March an autumn weather pattern came into being and with the passing of the low weather pattern that was Cyclone Olwyn, the region experienced some rain with cooler night time temperatures. This extended the ripening period for red wine varieties quite nicely giving them more 'hang time', which enhanced fruit development flavour profiles and softer tannin levels.
Winemaking
The fruit is hand harvested, de-stemmed and crushed, so that each berry is just split. This is to ensure minimal berry degradation during the fermentation process and to promote fresh, clean flavour production by our very specifically selected yeast strain. Our ferments are, by industry standards, cool and gentle, allowing slower, more controlled extraction of tannin and flavour. The wine is pumped over three times a day and then judiciously backed off as the wine develops.
This wine was on skins in the fermenter for 14 days, before gentle pressing and barrelling down. The result is clean, pure fruit flavours, boasting supple yet powerful tannin. The wine was aged in 50% new French barriques for 18 months before the wine was removed from barrels, clarified and bottled.
Aging
Up to 20 years, however we enjoy it for freshness now.
Appearance
Crimson with blue streaks.
