Nose
Typically lifted and aromatic, the fruit characters are bright and charming – redcurrant, dark
cherry, cranberry and a violet perfume, with subtle milk chocolate in the background.
Enormously appealing.
Palate
This medium bodied wine is soft and supple, with the 2014 vintage being more about the
cabernet than the merlot. The palate is succulent and moreish with red and blue fruits
backed by mocha oak characteristics. The structure is true to cabernet with fine powdery
tannins and great length, the smaller than usual percentage of merlot filling out the palate.
Growing Conditions
Margaret River experienced one of its warmest vintages on record, on a par with the very
warm 2011 vintage. The red harvest benefitted from mild conditions throughout March and
April which enabled tannin and flavour maturity to catch up to the high sugars prior to
harvest. This also enabled us to select our picking dates without any weather issues. The reds
from this vintage will be recognised for their red berry fruits and soft tannins. Once again the
weather gods were on our side for a classic Margaret River vintage.
Winemaking
The cabernet sauvignon component was held on skins for 10 days to help build the structure
of the wine. The merlot was pressed earlier to retain bright fruit aromatics, while still
providing mid palate sweetness. The traditional Bordelaise winemaking technique of
délistage was used during maceration to provide bright aromatics while increasing oxygen in
order to help with tannin polymerisation. 10% new French oak was used on this wine to
complement the fruit while providing some subtle mocha and vanillin oak sweetness. The
wine was held in oak for 12 months and racked and returned twice before being fined with
Margaret River free range eggs, filtered and bottled
Appearance
Vivid crimson with purple hues.
Food Pairing
Lamb tagine with pan fried aubergine and cumin crunch.
