We had a great summer leading up to vintage, although a rain event about a week or so before the start of harvest lead to some unusually humid conditions (for Margaret River at least). Careful fruit selection in some vineyards was required as a result of the humidity, despite experiencing good weather during the white harvest. The end of the whites saw a bit more rain, which was then followed by fine weather for the rest of March setting up the reds nicely. In summary 2021 was a more challenging season than usual, however the extra work in the vineyard ultimately paid dividends with some wonderfully elegant wines being produced. Fruit for this blend was predominantly Estate grown on our Boodjidup and Stevens Road vineyards in the Wallcliffe sub-region of Margaret River. The wine is Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) certified.

The fruit was destemmed and then crushed with open rollers to introduce whole berries into the ferment. One of the components was co-fermented with a small portion of Viognier skins adding spice and a floral lift to the wine. After fermentation, the various batches underwent MLF and 14 months maturation in a selection of French oak barriques (20% new oak in total) prior to assembling the blend and bottling.

Deep red with crimson hues. The bouquet displays ripe forest fruits, redcurrants, and spice with hints of toasty oak in the background. The palate is full bodied offering plenty of ripe berry fruits; raspberry, blackberry, and liquorice characters. The generous fruit has combined with supple tannins to produce a well-balanced, approachable wine with a spicy, lingering, fruit finish. Perfectly approachable (and eminently gluggable!) in its youth, this wine will comfortably cellar for several years.