Nose
The bouquet shows a lovely lift of berries, red currants, & black cherries with a dusting of cinnamon spice & star anise
Palate
Medium to full bodied, mouth filling with plentiful vibrant fruit texture, firm, ripe tannins, & an undercurrent of both spice & savouriness. Beautifully balanced, finishing juicy, succulent & long
Growing Conditions
An exceptional vintage. The season commenced with a wet start to June when rainfall was 30% above average. From this point onwards the months dried to below average rainfall & maximum temperatures crept up above the long-term averages. Lower yields, but outstanding quality across the board
Harvest
74% was hand-picked from 24th February – 5th March from the unirrigated 1973 plantings on the original estate, 26% is the aromatic PT15 clone picked from our Karridale vineyard between 11-12th March 13.6 °Bé - 14.2 °Bé
Bottling
Bottled in November 2021.
Winemaking
A mix of both open & closed fermenters with a small proportion of whole-bunch; plunged & pumped over, the ferment spent an average of 12 days on skins. Unfined.
Aging
15 months maturation in large, aged format French barrels (mainly hogsheads) of which just 10% were new, during which time the wine underwent MLF
Appearance
Brilliant crimson
Food Pairing
Pulled pork sliders or lentil shepherd’s pie