The Vineyard
The fruit for this wine was sourced from Cape Mentelle’s Estate, Foxcliffe and Kyella vineyards in Margaret River. The soils are predominantly deep sandy loams with high lateritic gravel content over clay. Shoot and leaf removal techniques were used to ensure a balance between fruit exposure to light whilst providing protection from the midday sun.
The Season
The 2010 harvest in Margaret River continues a run of excellent vintages, again marked by a very dry and mild summer. The only signifi cant rainfall for the vintage period was not until mid-April ensuring an excellent ripening period with fruit retaining pristine varietal fl avours, great concentration and intensity.
Winemaking
Fruit was selectively harvested and berry sorted based on fl avour and tannin maturity. Fermentation took place in a combination of open and static stainless steel fermenters. The ferments were managed with a combination of plunging and pump overs. All batches were basket pressed and transferred to large oak vats for malolactic fermentation.The wine was matured for 15 months in predominantly Burgundian coopered French oak barriques, 25% of which were new, before being bottled in
September 2011.
Analysis
13.5% alcohol, 5.8g/l total acidity, 3.5 pH.
Australian Wine Companion 2013
The bouquet calmly announces its cool-grown origins, with fragranr, almost flowery, red fruits and spices, the medium-bodied palate is supple and smooth, building impressively on the finely structured finishthanks to exactly poised tannins. To 2030