| 2016 Cabernet Shiraz $35 | |
 | Size: 750ml Tasting NotesRipe plums and a symphony of dark red berries with a plush, full mouthfeel and intense dark colour. Savoury notes of tomato leaf, leather and bracken mixed with cherry, dark chocolate, Christmas pudding and a touch of wood smoke. The wine has good length and structure and will no doubt reward cellaring. Food MatchingSlow cooked beef cheeks, a porcini risotto or roast pork with crackling. A medium rare T-one steak with pepper sauce and duck fat roast potatoes or an old fashioned boeuf bourgignon or osso buco stew. Viticulture2016 was a difficult year for us. We have two Cabernet Sauvignon clones on our Kuitpo vineyard but unfortunately the CW44 Coonawarra clone was completely destroyed in the very late black frost we had on the 27th November. This meant we could only harvest Cabernet from our G9V3 clone which was on a higher part of the property. The frost level was marked on the posts and the block was partially hand picked up to that point to avoid mixing less ripe secondary bunches. A warm summer meant the grapes ripened a little sooner than usual. We hand picked two mega-bins for Top Note on the 5th April at a baume of 13.5. WinemakingThe Cabernet grapes were destemmed and sorted before being pumped largely whole into the fermenter. The ferment was basket pressed just before dry and the wine subsequently underwent malolactic fermentation before being transferred to French oak barrels (50% new) for maturation. The Shiraz underwent a similar process but was matured exclusively in older French oak barrels. Wine AnalysisTA: 6.22g/L |