A remarkable single vineyard wine redolent in the red currant, violet and chocolate-like tannin notes of classic Margaret River Cabernet with underlying spicy French oak. Hand-picked, berry-sorted and fermented in Margaret River, transferred to Mudgee where French oak maturation, barrel selection, blending and bottling took place.
REGION NOTES
Despite a compelling push from Dr John Gladstones to delineate six subregions within Margaret River, there are no official subregions, which belies the wide range of climate and soil types of this sprawling district. Wilyabrup is the home of many of the region's greatest Cabernets: Cullen, Moss Wood, Sandalford and Pierro spring immediately to mind - producing long-lived reds of great style and finesse. The mature Brindle Vineyard is in the heart of the region and consistently produces an outstanding crop.
Vintage Notes
On release, 2008 vintage Margaret River Cabernets will no doubt be shadowed by the remarkably good 2007s however with their tightly coiled structure, natural acidity and excellent fruit intensity, we feel they may reveal themselves as even better, given time in bottle. The vines enjoyed a gentle growing season, harvest was later as the grapes hung on the vine longer due to the cooler temperatures.
Winemaking Notes
After a long slow ripening period, the grapes were hand-picked, berry-sorted
and open-fermented in Margaret River by Larry Cherubino prior to transfer to our Mudgee winery where James Manners and his team took over, and French oak maturation, blending and bottling took place. The wine has picked up some lovely supporting vanillin and spicy nuances through its 18 month gestation in oak.
WINE STATISTICS
BARREL AGEING: 18 months
CELLARING: 10 years
ALC/VOL: 13.8% RS: 0.3g/litre pH: 3.60
TA: 5.60/litre