2020 Single Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

colour

Deepest crimson with purple hues.

aroma

Rich dark fruits, black pepper, ripe raspberries and dark chocolate. 

palate

These old Shiraz vines drive the style with great richness and length of flavour coupled with fragrance and spice. The Cabernet Sauvignon component contributes a layer of structure and texture, perfectly integrated to produce this rare and memorable blend.

cellaring

Drink within five to ten years from vintage. 

vintage

Another fortunate vintage for the Margaret River Region, especially when compared to what some other regions in parts of Australia had to endure, highlights the compatibility of the region to growing and making some of the world’s finest table wines.

A very early start and finish to the vintage due to a dry and warm spring which warmed the soil and promoted early and healthy vine growth. It was also an exceptional year for the flowering of the native Marri trees which kept the birds distracted from the ripening fruit.

The white harvest was over quick with the warm temperatures in early March then moderating which slowed ripening in the reds and allowed flavour to intensify and tannins to soften. By the end of March to early April, most of the region had finished the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest, the latest ripening varietal in the region.

winemaking

Our ethos when making our Single Vineyard wines is to use a minimalistic, hands-off winemaking approach to present fruit and therefore vineyard and varietal character at the forefront of each wine.

The Shiraz fruit was handpicked cool in the early morning so the fruit could be fermented as whole bunches. Each small, 10kg bucket of fruit was tipped into the fermenter and after being kept cool at 10C for 3 days the bunches started wild fermentation. Gentle plunging of the must was then done over 10 days to cool the ferment whilst extracting colour and the fine, ripe skin and stalk tannins to achieve the structure and style of the wine.

The Cabernet fruit was handpicked but destemmed to ensure the ferment consisted purely of berries. Fermentation started immediately and after 5 days of gentle plunging and extraction, the free-run wine was added to the Shiraz ferment (which was still on skins) with the Cabernet skins kept separate to blend into another wine.

Following another two days, the decision was made to press the ferment off skins, with the pressing’s component blended back into the free run to give the ideal body and structure to the final blend.

The wine went straight into old French oak puncheons (500L barrels) to mature for 14 months. These larger puncheon barrels ensure perfume and freshness is retained whilst preserving the silky and refined palate along with textural complexity – a difficult goal to achieve in red winemaking. The result is a rarely seen wine style out of Margaret River of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon from some of the oldest vines in the region on the Redbrook Vineyard. 

region

Margaret River

variety

73% Shiraz

27% Cabernet Sauvignon

analysis

• Alcohol: 14.5%
• pH: 3.63
• TA 6.40 g/L

Red wine and rosemary teriyaki roast lamb. 

Blackwood Valley and WA Boutique Wine Show 2021

Best Red Blend

Wine Show of Western Australia 2021

National Wine Show of Australia 2021

Margaret River Wine Show 2023

Ray Jordan Top 100 Reds 2024

From the start this is a captivating blend. Scented notes of violets and red berry strike immediately. The palate is a sumptuous feast of fruit with a complex savoury dark chocolate addition. Retains a smooth and refined palate structure. The supple completeness of the middle palate is a feature, with those fine sinewy tannins adding definition and structure.

95

James Suckling 2022

A medium-bodied red with creamy and round tannins that have some tension and focus. Blackberry, dark chocolate and dried chili. Hits of tobacco and fresh herbs. 

93

Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion 2023

73/27% shiraz/cabernet sauvignon, the shiraz component including 50% whole bunches. Once fermented and pressed, the varieties were blended and sent to French oak to mature for 9 months. The tannins are ever-present in this wine, pervading every corner of the mouth. Having said that, they are not intrusive – the fruit is more than concentrated enough to stand up and fight for its own space. This will be even better in a years time, when the 2 varieties have had time to melt into each other.

90