This Margaret River classic comes from hand-harvested parcels of fruit from the Estate’s very best vineyard blocks. The core Cabernet Sauvignon components were selectively cropped from two exceptional Estate vineyard blocks, the Estate Old Block planted in 1978 and Block 12 from the North vineyard planted in 1995. These two vineyards display exceptional consistency from season to season and showcase clear vineyard site expression, producing wines with great intensity and individuality.
The wine was blended with a small portion of Merlot and Petit Verdot, the Merlot adding flesh and earthiness to the mid palate whilst the Petit Verdot adds great aromatics with violet nuances.Bunches were de-stemmed to retain as many whole berries as possible after which the parcels were fermented separately in open and upright fermenters with regular, gentle pump overs and plunging. Fermentation temperatures were kept below 25°C and lasted 14 days. Following primary fermentation select parcels were left on skins for up to 21 days before being pressed. The wines from each parcel remained separate during 20 months of maturation in tight-grain French oak of which 50% was new. The wines were racked every three months to aid clarification. Following the maturation period the batches were then blended, fined and filtered prior to being bottled in January 2016.