Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Appearance: dark, ruby red, dark cherry edges

Aroma: red currant, cassis, mulberry, dark chocolate, cinnamon stick, fresh tobacco, dark earth, forest floor, dried sage, violets, raspberry cane, red rose petal, bramble

Palate: red and black currant, black cherry, dark moist earth, tar, tight fine-grained tannins, dark toasted baking spice finish, chewy, sinewy, lithe, long, refined structure carrying fruit to a firm, focused finish, cured black olives, smoked bresaola

Cool, wet winter with a very high rainfall followed by a warm to hot and dry summer. The vines grew quickly, developing excellent canopies. Delayed bud burst, which affected flowering, gave lower yields, setting fruit of small size and great concentration. A cool autumn ensued, allowing slow development of flavours and aromatics, with the longer hang time giving dense complete yet fine tannins.

This was a cool vintage, which allowed slow development of complex characters and beautiful acidities within the grapes. Although the season was wild with erratic weather, the wines are stunning cool climate expressions of their varieties.

The fruit was selectively harvested picked in mid-April when optimum ripeness was reached. The fruit was destemmed into a closed top fermenter, draining juice at the crusher to concentrate the must. After several days cold soaking, the must was allowed to warm and fermented with a selected yeast being pumped over 1-3 times daily. A further week of post ferment maceration occurred to develop the complete tannin structure, and the tanks was pressed after 20 days on skins utilising a tank press with a basket press program minimising maceration. The wine was gently drained to French Oak barrique and Hogshead (12% new) and aged for 14 months before being bottled unfined with minimal filtration.

Grilled rib-eye with balsamic reduction, ripe Epoisses cheese with marinated pear