Production: 74 dozen
Colour: Ruby Red
Aroma: Lifted strawberry conserve and red currents. Underlying thyme and cedar notes.
Palate: A sweet fruited generous wine showing brambly fruits like raspberry and strawberries along with notes of red liquorice. Freshness and vibrancy come thru to long lingering fine tannins and finishing with a hint of dried herbs.
Viticulture: The vineyard is grown naturally using organic biological principals. 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 2021 Rating 8/10: After a very dry 2020 winter bud break was early for all varieties. Spring was wetter than average so protection from disease was critical with timely applications of organic sprays when the weather permitted all the way to December. Finally the sun came out at the right time to accelerate ripening of the lower than normal crop load. This was a blessing as harvest approached significant rain events occurred. Hard work in the vineyard opening the canopy for air flow and small crops got all varieties to optimum ripeness with pristine fruit. Marri Blossom was late and netting was required to stop bird damage.
Vinification: The grapes were picked in the cool of the morning on 31 March and 10th April 2021, 50% destemmed and placed in open fermenters. The rest was put as whole bunches into a fermenter and fermented separately. Innoculated with a neutral yeast and the cap plunged up to four times a day, by hand. After 10 days the wine was kept on extended skins for a further ten days. Then the wine was drained and the must basket pressed off to tank where it underwent a malolactic fermentation which softens the acid. The wine was then racked to a mix of one and two year old French barriques, then left to mature for 12 months. Blended and put to bottle in November 2022 July 2022.
Awards and Reviews:
Always one of m favourites from Cape Grace. The slightly cooler vintage has suited this hightly perfumed variety, highlightling the delightful secnts of red fruits and violets. A hands-on approach coaxes the best from the fruit. Open fermanttion, hand plunging and baske pressing, gently tease the succulent red fruits into a seamless and velvety smooth palale. Has potential to cellar of at lease 10 years. 95 points Ray Jordan.
Young Gun of Wine – Deep Dive Australia's Best Cabernet Franc October 2024. Both Imrie and Khudeira had this in their top six wines from the blind tasting. “Noice! A more savoury, herbal, forest floor style here,” declared Imrie, “The wine has mellow ruby hue. I get some red currant, raspberry, fresh strawberry, and fresh green leafiness. I liked the architecture of this wine – the tannins were restrained, giving space on the palate. Loved the mouthfeel that it gave. The flavours were all very relaxed, the palate had a satisfying tart cranberry element. Lovely lingering herbal finish.” “Purple like plum and dried violet,” described Khudeira. “Frigid coolness and mineral drive that keeps plush fruit weight anchored. Tannin is sinewy and unfurling.”
Bronze Medal – Margaret River Wine Show 2023
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