The fruit is hand-picked and bunch sorted prior to being berry selected, with only perfect berries entering the one tonne open fermenters. Once in the open fermenters, the must is cold soaked and hand plunged every 4 hours prior to being gently pressed and poured into French barrels. The wine is stored for between 12-18 months and then bottled and stored for between 2-3 years prior to release.
Hand-picked, hand-sorted, gently de-stemmed and berry sorted. Small, separate-batch ferments. Matured for 18 months in French oak and 50% new barrels. Only the 10 finest barrels selected for the final blend.
62% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 8% cabernet franc, 3% malbec, 3% petit verdot. 45% new French oak. It puts on a seamless, confident display of fruit and oak flavour, the finish then a masterclass in tannin management. It mounts a complex argument for itself and then sweeps you along with it.
96 points Campbell Mattinson winecompanion.com.au 1 August 2019