Palate
The nose is alluring and plush; rich plum and currants, violets, rose petal and cocoa. A luxurious and seamless texture delivers flavour in unfurling layers across the palate – concentrated blueberry, blackcurrant, vanilla, coffee and aniseed. A perfectly delicate expression of cabernet fruit with a powerful yet yielding structural framework which will support the wine for a long period of time.
Growing Conditions
growing conditions in the south west of Western Australia were, yet again, favourable for the making of great wine. After a winter of just enough rain, the spring to autumn period was continuously warm to hot, dry and characterised by less than average summer precipitation or humidity. An added bonus to the benign harvest conditions was the explosion of native blossom which sated the otherwise grape-loving, resident bird populations. The Mount Barker sub region experienced warm to hot conditions throughout vintage. Hot spells in March magnified the effect of little spring or summer rain. With soil moisture very low, the cooler south facing vineyards did receive some reprieve off the southern ocean. This relief was however limited as the seasonal onshore streams that deliver coastal drizzle and cooler conditions across the region, were weaker than normal. These warmer than average conditions did accelerate ripeness and allowed most varieties to be harvested early.
Winemaking
Harvest of the Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon fruit occurred in late March 2012. Vinification was conducted in both open and closed stainless steel fermenters with diligent cap management to extract fine fruit tannin and strong varietal flavour. Selected parcels remained on skins post the fermentation to further enhance the tannin profile while others were pressed at dryness to retain fruit vibrancy. After pressing, each batch is retained and managed separately throughout vinification and maturation in order to build a wine history over time. Barrel maturation for 20 months in 40 % new and 60% older French oak barriques allowed for the thorough integration of oak and grape tannins. The wine was blended from a selection of the best batches of the Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon. After egg white fining and light filtration, the wine was bottled.
Appearance
Dark ruby colour.
