Nose
A fragrant nose of blackcurrant, boysenberry, raspberry & Satsuma plum along with notes of cedar, graphite & dried lavender
Palate
Exceptionally fine in texture, mouthfeel & structure. The palate is layered with red & blue fruits, cassis, smoky cedar, & liquorice, culminating in a long, elegant & polished finish
Growing Conditions
2019 was cooler & later than recent vintages but with no extremes of heat. Bird pressure was extreme, however red varieties enjoyed beautiful weather up until the end of April, allowing long hang-time to achieve optimum ripeness. Yields were lower than average, but quality was consistent & the reds varieties show great finesse
Harvest
A single vineyard wine from the 46year-old original plantings. Unirrigated to this day, the vineyard is farmed following organic principles & is sustainably certified under the audited Sustainable Wine Growing Australia initiative. Hand-picked on 10th, 12th & 15th of April 2019 between 13.2° – 13.4° Bé
Bottling
The wine was not fined & was bottled November 2021
Winemaking
100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Houghton selection) was carefully hand-picked, then sorted for optimum quality. The fruit was destemmed & cold-soaked for up to five days which allows a gentle extraction of colour, aroma & flavour pre-ferment: the cool temperature preventing the ferment from initiating. The fruit spent up to 11 days on skins to extract colour, tannin & flavour, with the ferment taking place in hand-plunged open fermenters, then up to a further 21 days on skins post-ferment.
Aging
The wine was matured in French barriques for 20 months, of which 34% were new
Appearance
Crimson red
Food Pairing
Entrecôte à la bordelaise or roast pumpkin in red wine sauce, with mushrooms & chestnuts
