CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
Production 880 cases
Release December 2009
Recommended Retail Price $22.00
Tasting Notes
Deep red brick in colour, this wine has aromas of berries mint and dusty oak. Delicate flavours of wild fruits and earth are well balanced by firm tannins. The palate is complex with well integrated American oak leading to an harmonious finish. This Cabernet is well matched with roast vegetables, pasta, pizza and a wide variety of meats. Enjoy now until the end of 2013.
Growing Season
2008 began with some excellent spring rain which allowed the vines to get off to a great start . Flowering was perfect with warm days and little wind. Following fruit set the season turned very dry however we had excellent shoot growth by this time giving great vine balance.The vines were not canopy managed as exposure was perfect left to form a natural umbrella. Bunch weight at harvest was low with the dry finish to the year however we were very happy with the fruit intensity. Harvest occurred at night on March 8th.
Winemaking
The grapes were harvested at night to ensure they arrived at the winery at low temperature. They were crushed and de-stemmed prior to being transferred to open fermentors. The must was inoculated using L2323 yeast and fermentation was held between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius . The cap was plunged by hand every eight days for 5 days. The wine was pressed off skins then transferred to three year old French and four year old American and oak. The wine was then racked every six weeks before being returned to barrel.Following nine months in barrel the wine was prepared for bottling which was done in November 2009.
Analysis
pH: 3.5
Ta: 6.1
Res Sugar: 2 g/L
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
Production 540 cases
Release January 2009
Recommended Retail Price $22.00
'A very pleasant Cabernet with well balanced fruit and fine tannin' Sun Herald Uncorked 2008
Tasting Notes
Deep red brick in colour, this wine has aromas of berries mint and dusty oak. Delicate flavours of wild fruits and earth are well balanced by firm tannins. The palate is complex with well integrated American oak leading to an harmonious finish. This Cabernet is well matched with roast vegetables, pasta, pizza and a wide variety of meats. Enjoy now until the end of 2011.
Growing Season
2007 was an excellent growing season however for the 3rd consecutive year little rain fell during the season in our region. We experienced bud burst on the 7th of October which was followed by a small frost on October 14th. Losses from the frost were estimated to be from 5-15% depending on the location in the vineyard. Conditions for flowering were perfect with warm days and very little wind. We were reasonably happy with fruit set however noticed that some bunches had not completely filled. This was most likely due to water stress. Verasion occurred at the usual time and the ripening period was excellent with warm dry days and cool nights. Harvest occurred on March 22nd earlier than usual due to the light crop load.
Winemaking
The grapes were crushed and de-stemmed prior to being transferred to a small stainless open fermentor. The must was inoculated with L2323 yeast and fermentation took place between 20 and 24 degrees celsius. The cap was plunged by hand three times a day. The wine was then pressed off skins at 2 baume. It was then transferred to three and four year old American and French oak and inoculated for secondary fermentation which took one month to complete. The wine was then racked and returned to barrel for maturation. The wine spent nine months in two and three year old French and American barrels prior to bottling in January 2008.
Analysis
pH: 3.6
Ta: 6.2
Res Sugar: 2 g/L