Nose
An intense and rich bouquet led by the ripest cassis and berry fruits, rich and opulent
but brooding in its youth. Behind the primary fruits are distinctive vineyard characteristics of
dark chocolate and mint. The oak is background cedar which will recede further as the fruits
emerge with some bottle age.
Palate
This vineyard consistently produces intense fleshy and full mid palate Cabernet
with massive fruit weight with dark cherry and blackcurrant flavours. At the time of writing
the wine is very youthful and tight but it still has ample fruit sweetness that will only become
more accessible as the wine matures in bottle. This is a big full wine with ample flavour and
concentration in the classic Margaret River tradition.
Growing Conditions
It has been a carefree run for winemakers in Margaret River over the last eight
seasons with perfect season following one after another, and then 2015 came along and took
us out of our comfort zone.
In the late part of 2014, in October particularly, we experienced some of the wildest
windiest weather for decades, resulting in one of the worst flowerings on record with windy
and wet conditions seriously compromising fruit set with the result that the yields of 2015
were the lowest that I have experienced in 23 years of growing grapes in the South West.
The season itself was quite warm in the early part, and very dry. We had a break between
white and red varieties as the summer stuttered with some cooler weather giving an extended
ripening period for red varieties resulting in well coloured and beautifully ripe grapes. The
2015 red wines are wonderfully well balanced medium bodied, even elegantly structured that
may prove to be some of the wines of the decade. Albeit in worryingly small quantities.
Appearance
Dense dark red to black colour of great intensity.
