Margaret River The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Winemaker’s Notes:
Made with select parcels of fruit from our most outstanding vineyards, our Reserve wines represent the exquisite synergy between viticulture and winemaking.  Blended for style, elegance and complexity, these wines are the ultimate expression of the vintage and the variety.

The fruit for our 2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from three vineyards that have consistently produced our highest quality Cabernet with ripe varietal flavours and impressive colour and tannin levels. The vines are all on the VSP trellis system, which is carefully managed to ensure adequate exposure of the grape bunches.

Following harvest, the fruit was crushed to small static fermenters where cap management and temperature was carefully controlled to provide a clean, even rate of fermentation. Select batches were cold soaked for 3-5 days prior to this at 5-10C to increase colour intensity and to encourage the production of aromatics.  These batches were pressed off early to ensure a softly textured wine was produced.  Following pressing, each batch was fermented to dryness in tank before being racked to new French oak barriques. Maturation in barrel ranged from 12-18 months with malolactic fermentation being conducted in barrel and each batch being racked every 3 months. After blending, the wine was coarsely filtered only prior to bottling.  

Appearance: Inky purple/black.

Nose: This wine possesses a rich, varietal nose with subtle perfumes and many layers of complexity.  Cassis, fresh blackberry, wine gum and tobacco leaf with background oak characters of spice and cedar and a slight menthol lift.

Palate: Fleshy, rich and seamlessly integrated.  Ripe, fresh dark berry fruits dominate with subtle savoury oak characters and fine dusty tannins.

Alcohol content: 14.5% ALC/VOL.

Cellaring: Now - 2015.

Food match - everyday: Aged farmhouse cheddar.

Food match – special occasion: Roast saddle of thyme infused lamb, gratin dauphinois, and minted peas with baby carrots.