Nose
Fragrant aromas of blue fruits with notes of plums and mulberry with a fennel seed and mace lift.
Palate
A lush, concentrated palate with lashings of berry fruit balanced by anise and musk. Red acidity with excellent textural fine tannins that provide fantastic length.
Growing Conditions
Due to the warm spring then summer season, our 2020 vintage started two weeks earlier than average. Dry and mild conditions carried on through the ripening stages of all our red varieties, providing ample opportunities for perfect fruit and phenolic ripeness.
For this blend, we selected two parcels of Wilyabrup fruit with an average vine age of 20 years: one from sand over clay soils located close to the coast, and one on free draining gravelly ironstone. Both parcels are spur pruned and low yielding with excellent bunch architecture.
Harvest
These two parcels were machine picked at night in late March 2020, only a couple days apart.
Winemaking
The two parcels of fruit were received and treated separately at the winery; the fruit was destemmed and lightly crushed before going to the fermenter. One batch underwent a short 3-day cold soak was the second went into fermentation right away. The ferments were worked daily with 2 to 4 aerative remontages. The malo-lactic fermentation was done in barrels, with a little over 1/3 new oak
combination of French and American barrels.
The barrels were individually selected and blended in October 2021 and the wine was bottled in November, filtered but without fining or stabilization.
Aging
Drink now or cellar up to 15 years
Appearance
Deep Crimson with a ruby hue
Food Pairing
Ribeye Steak cooked over coals with a Salsa Verde, egg piperade with tricolour capsicum and Espelette pepper.
