Nose
A beguiling combination of black cherries, damsons, smallgoods, & dried herbs
Palate
Medium-bodied, with intense, ripe, dark-skinned fruits, aniseed & white pepper along with other savoury spice notes. Oak influence is subtle, but acidity & fine soft tannins carry the fruit on an impressively long finish
Growing Conditions
2019 was cooler & later than recent vintages but with no extremes of heat. Red varieties enjoyed beautiful weather up until the end of April, allowing long hang-time to achieve optimum ripeness. However, bird pressure was high & yields were lower than average, but quality was consistent & the reds show great finesse
Harvest
95.8% was hand-picked at 13.9°-14.4°Bé between 4-11th April from the unirrigated 1973 plantings on the original estate. 4.2% is the aromatic PT15 clone picked on our Karridale vineyard on 3rd April at 13.3°Bé. Both sites are farmed sustainably, following organic practices
Bottling
The wine was bottled on 1st February 2021
Winemaking
The ferment was done in open fermenters employing a mix of indigenous and cultured yeast. 5% was whole-bunch; and the ferment spent up to eight days on skins.
Aging
Nine months maturation in aged large format French barrels (puncheons & hogsheads) of which just 10% were new, during which time the wine underwent MLF.
Appearance
Luminous deep red
Food Pairing
Osso bucco