Sourced from individual blocks within our estate, Reserve wines encompass the very best fruit from the most exceptional vintages. Each block is hand harvested, with each bunch surveyed in the vineyard to determine its Reserve status. Often featuring our original 1972 plantings, these complex wines offer unique expressions of varietal, time and place.
A fantastic vintage for later ripening varieties; Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Good rainfall through winter and early spring ensured that our nutrient rich soils were full of water, leading to a period of average rainfall through the later months of 2018 and then a dry summer. The season was reminiscent of 2016, warm and with high fruit yields. Thankfully canopies were well established, helping to protect our bunches and enable a long ripening period. Overall, it was a good vintage to be in our elevated and secluded pocket of the Upper Yarra, where we were able to control fruit ripening to ensure complex flavour development.
Fruit from our original 1972 plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon was handpicked early in the morning into small buckets, with bunch selection done in the vineyard. The bunches were de-stemmed into a stainless-steel open fermenter allowing 100% whole berries. Fermentation was wild with hand plunging daily and malolactic fermentation occurring during this period. The wine was pressed off skins directly to a mix of 300L and 500L French oak barrels (approximately 20% new) and remained on lees for 12 months. The final wine was gently racked to bottle without fining or filtration.
A delicate and distinct expression of Cabernet – you immediately know it is not Coonawarra or Barossa. Classic cassis / blackcurrant notes are there, but the fruit is well integrated against savoury elements such as balsamic pickled onion, Jamon Iberico and flint.
The palate is restrained and delicate. Time will help unravel some of its reservation. The palate is led by the nose, with fruit presence sitting in equal measure to savouriness. Soft liquorice, blackcurrant pastilles jubes, crushed native gum, and whiffs of pipe tobacco tell a story of varietal, time, and place. A wonderful varietal expression for those curious to see Cabernet in new clothes. Drink 2025 – 2035.
94 points, Halliday Wine Companion 2022
“Excellent crimson hue, delicate aromas and flavours, and while there's a splash of cassis and currants, it's very savoury. Licorice, warm earth, a hint of cigar box and cedary oak – not much.”
Jane Faulkner, August 2022
