A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Shiraz with the Cabernet sourced from a 1919 Block located in the Clare Valley sub district of Leasingham and the Shiraz coming from Greenock in the Barossa Valley. Matured for 24 months in French oak hogsheads. Pitch black dark red colour with a deep dark red black tinged hue. Ripe blackcurrant and liquorice aromas intermix with vanillin oak, scorched earth and spicy tobacco notes. Rich, bold and firmly structured, generous blackcurrant, black cherry and liquorice fruits are underpinned by robust tannins that have a grippy feel. Cedary tobacco characters, scorched earth and spice also chime in. Ripe muscular conclusion.
Cellar 5-6 years.
Alc. 14.8%
70% cabernet from the 1919 Block in Leasingham, 30% shiraz from the DeFazio vineyard in Greenock (originally planted in 1864). Matured seperately in French and American oak for 24 months. There is a lot of big players here - Leasingham cabernet, Greenock shiraz, old vines, American oak, 24 months... I mean these are big things. And the wine is big, concentrated, dense, intense. It figures. Beyond the muscular tannin framework and the black-fruit compote that colours in the body, this has enormous length of flavour through the finish. I can still taste it now, at the end of this note. An impressive wine, but it needs even more time to come together as one, I would suggest.
Erin Larkin
Published 03 August 2022
