Stats
- Grapes: 85% Cabernet - 10% Syrah - 5% Cabernet Franc
- Vineyard: Paeroa Vineyard (Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah) - Sommerville Vineyard (Cabernet Franc)
- Vine Age: Average: 30-years-old
- Soil Type: Grey and and red mottled alluvial clay (Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah) - Black crackling soil (Cabernet Franc)
- Viticulture: Practicing Organic
- Fermentation: Native – 1-ton open-top fermenters (100% whole berry)
- Skin Contact: 15 days
- Aging: 12 months in neutral oak
- Alcohol: 13%
- Residual Sugar:
- pH: 3.6
- Total Acidity: 5.7 g/L
- Total SO2: 43 ppm
- Total Production: 230 cases
Tasting Note
The herbal nose gives way to a waterfall of plush raspberries, blackberries, bay leaves, and graphite on a medium-bodied frame. This is lighter than your typical Cab, but long ripening this vintage has led to luxurious tannins. It’s soft and circular, if that can be said. In the words of Mike Bennie, we’re talking “claret-plus.”