Tasting Notes

2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc,1% Petit Verdot

Region:

Margaret River, Western Australia

Vintage:

2007

Impenetrable red in colour, the nose is rich & exotic showing black & red currant, raspberry coulis, mulberry, plum, bay leaf & choc mint with spicy vanilla nuances. The palate is layered with the full spectrum of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit characters plus licorice & exotic spices. The palate is full of juicy, succulent, fruit perfectly balanced with the long fine tannins and quality French oak, which when combined with the fine acidity will ensure cellaring potential of at least 10 years.

Winemaker's Notes

The 2007 vintage was the earliest vintage on record for being only 9 months after the challenging & late 2006 vintage. Spring got off to an early start, which brought forward all phenological stages & the warm dry conditions continued through to ripening. We experienced a small heat wave in early March, which caused considerable stress to younger irrigated vineyards but didn’t trouble our old dry -grown vines. Baumé levels spiked during the hot weather, however patience prevailed and baumé levels returned back down to manageable levels after a week or so. This extra hang time was vital for proper flavour ripeness in the Cabernet Sauvignon.

TECHNICAL DATA

Oak 50% new French oak for 18 months
Method Fruit de-stemmed & chilled into open fermenters, with cold soak for up to 5 days with plunging or pumping over over 1-2 times a day for extraction once fermentation had commenced. Must spent 14-30 days on skins
Picking Dates 11th - 20th March, hand-picked in small batches
Yield 5.0 t/Ha
Baumé 12.6 to 14.0 Be°
Trellis Scott Henry
Alcohol 14.2 %
Ferment Natural & innoculated
pH 3.70
MLF In barrel
TA 5.7 g/L
Production 770 cases
Released February 2010