2022 Plantagenet 'Aquitaine' Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance: Deep ruby red

Aroma: Lifted blackberry, cassis and olive with subtle tobacco leaf and nuances of cedar and toasty char from the oak.

Palate: A very fine, poised palate of dark berries, olive and earth have beautifully interwoven fine supple oak tannins. Deceptively densely packed with naturally derived grape structure giving the wine a firm lingering finish of cassis and tapenade.

Separate parcels of machine harvest fruit were destemmed into open and closed top fermenters then inoculated with a cultured yeast strain. Phenolic extraction was carefully managed; the finished wine was left in contact with the skins for a further period after fermenting increasing complexity and weight before being pressed to tank and racked to French barriques (30% new) for malolactic fermentation—maturation for 19 months before blending, filtration and bottling.

- Mike Garland, Chief Winemaker

One of the wettest and coldest winters provided a delayed start to the season. The ample soil moisture allowed healthy canopies to flourish. Some further spring rain at flowering reduced crop levels; however, the loose bunch set was a blessing and allowed intense flavour development. Some nice sunny weather helped the vines catch up on their development leading into harvest, with only about a two-week delay on average. The result was some intensely flavoured grapes that were perfectly balanced.

Vintage: 2022

Varietal(s): Cabernet Sauvignon

Vineyard: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Technical Analysis: Alcohol 14% | pH 3.53 | TA 6 g/L

Food pairing: Beef cheek ragu.

Will reward cellaring for at least 15 years.