Vintage Note: The 2019 season was a rollercoaster… with fluctuating temperatures and rain events throughout Spring resulting in a very successful flowering in the Gruyere and Tarrawarra sub regions. Beautiful moderate weather in early summer gave us rich dark green canopies, so that despite a few heat spikes in January, we had access to plenty of pristine bunches at harvest. Harvest weather was moderate and stable as we went into classic Indian summer and the Merlot and Cabernet were allowed to achieve a beautiful tannin ripeness. The red wines of 2019 are full of a dense energy and flavour.
Winemaking Notes: Each variety was hand picked and vinified separately. They were all destemmed and partially crushed before being tipped into small open fermenters for a natural fermentation. The ferments were given lots of air via gravity drain and returns during the fermentation period – this allows for a healthy fermentation but also locks in the rich colour and tannins of these varietals. On average the total maceration time was 16 days. The wine was pressed off to French oak barriques for malolactic fermentation and maturation for 14 months. In winter 2020, the blend is assembled for a long cool settling in tank before bottling by gravity in December, 2020.
Alcohol: 14.0%
Variety: Merlot blend