Production: 100 dozen
Colour: Amazingly vibrant, deep crimson.
Aroma: Dark cherries and blackberries exude from the glass, with lovely milk chocolate notes from fine oak. Underlying fennel seed in the background.
Palate: Red currants, and juicy raspberries on the palate with rich, syrupy blackberry notes. Savoury tones of thyme and a touch of chocolate mint add complexity. A bright acidity works with beautifully fine grained tannins, giving length and age-worthiness to a fuller-bodied Cabernet Franc from Cape Grace.
Review: “Deep, bright purple colour; smoky charry oak-led bouquet; a touch of regional nori. Good concentration of flavour, liberal oak and the tannins are smooth and easy, making for a wine of body and richness that can be enjoyed straight away—but will also keep a few years.” 91 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Viticulture: The vineyard is grown naturally using organic biological principles. Employing seaweed and fish emulsion foliar fertilisers plus elemental sulphur and copper sprays for disease prevention. Nothing is wasted, grape must is composted, mulched and mixed with manures, then returned to the vineyard floor. Cover crops of clover, peas and rye grass, are grown between the vines, which provide nitrogen and green mulch. Canopy management is vital – hedging and leaf plucking are used to control exposure to sunlight and further our effort to deliver perfectly ripe, balanced grapes to the winery.
Vintage 2023 9/10: Winter was cool and long here in Margaret River, with even a few frosts that are very rare. This helped with dormancy, and pruning could be done promptly. It stayed cool all the way through until the end of November, pushing budbreak and flowering back up to three weeks on 2022. By the end of November, the weather was perfect without a drop of rain until the 3rd of March. Warm, but not hot conditions, with temperatures around 30 degrees, helped things catch up from the late spring. No Marri blossom meant there were a lot of nets on and off, protecting fruit from birds as it ripens. Yields were higher than the previous two vintages, and the overall quality of fruit was exceptional.
Vinification: Harvested on the 4th of April 2023. A long, even, cooler ripening of the Cabernet Franc resulted in grapes with an amazing concentration of colour and flavour. Open fermented in two batches, with the Old and Young blocks kept separate. The wine was hand-plunged and left on skins for 23 days, before being Basket Pressed and transferred to oak. Matured for 18 months to allow softening of tannins and integration of oak. The blend comprised two barrels of Old block and two barrels of Young block, with two new French barriques in the blend (50%). A very expressive Cabernet Franc that will benefit time to soften even further.
Technical Data: Alcohol: 14.2%
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