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CABERNET SAUVIGNON & BLENDS





         #1.LW2  2019   Dominique Portet Fontaine / Cabernet Sauvignon           Yarra Valley, Vic
         “Lovely style of wine here. It’s restrained, perfumed, has a good amount of flavour in the cherry and redcurrant spectrum, a kiss of vanilla and spice oak, a
         dusty gently herbal Cabernet profile, freshness, and fine length. Good now, and good later too. A delightful quaffer.



         #6.D    2017   Mount Mary Quintet                                       Yarra Valley, Vic
         It’s 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot. Mount Mary has hit a purple patch with their Quintet over
         the past few vintages, and their Royal Purpleness continues in 2017.

         “Such perfume. It’s head spinningly fragrant. I’m thinking violet, cigar box, nougat, spicy biscuits, mint, chocolate and sweet wet earth, along with a core of
         intense raspberry, cherry and blackcurrant. It’s medium bodied, lithe but dense, rich cherry chocolate sprinkled with baking spices, crisp cranberry acidity,
         high pixel tannin, sweetness of fruit with a savoury ferrous edge. The finish is supremely long, all graphite and perfume, crisp definition and aniseed trailing
         in the aftertaste. Fine and rare”. Gary Walsh-97 points




         #1.LW2  2018   Wirra Wirra Church Block                                 McLaren Vale, SA
         Church Block was the first wine the late Greg Trott produced under the Wirra Wirra label back in 1972. He took the name from one of the original
         vineyards, which runs next to the small Bethany Church (est. 1854) across the road from Wirra Wirra’s century old ironstone cellars. Over four decades,
         the Church Block label has become an Australian favourite.

         “It’s chocolate time! And smooth milk chocolate at that, with subtle floral perfume, black plum, blackcurrant and a sweet aniseed top note with a little cedar
         oak in support. It’s fleshy and evenly weighted, silky fine grained tannin, maybe some juicy raspberry too, and a finish that’s pretty long and well defined. This
         will be so well received, it’s hard to imagine a single utterance of negative comment. Beauty”. 94 Points, Mike Bennie



         #6.D    2018   Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard The Peake                McLaren Vale, SA
         The Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard covers a steep cut of country from the ridgetops above the village of Clarendon to the Onkaparinga River in
         the gorge below. Since its establishment in 1971, the Hickinbotham vineyard has become an integral part of Australia’s wine heritage, supplying fruit
         to produce many of Australia’s greatest wines. Breathing new life into this historic vineyard, Chris Carpenter and Peter Fraser are forging a new era of
         Hickinbotham’s prestigious legacy; building upon and honoring the vineyard’s acclaimed record.
         The Peake is the flagship wine, and it feels like it every drop of the bottle. Cabernet Sauvignon 55%, Shiraz 45%.


         “From vines planted in ‘71. Hand-picked, destemmed, fermented separately on skins for 18 days, matured for 15 months in high quality French barrels. The
         best shiraz and cabernet are selected to showcase this long-time Australian blend. If there’s a better one, I haven’t seen it. This is a beautiful wine, red and black
         fruits holding hands as they so brilliantly throw off the shackles of the hot vintage”. 99 points, James Halliday. Drink 2048



         #2.D    2018   Nocturne Sheoak Single Vineyard / Cabernet Sauvignon         Margaret River, WA
         This vintage was, as far as great Margaret River Cabernet seasons go, perfect. A moderate amount of early-season rainfall and then warm days and cool
         nights for weeks and weeks. It was a complete Goldilocks harvest and one that will go down in the history books.

         The fruit was simply destemmed and fermented in 4.5-tonne static fermenters. After 12 days on skins and a peak ferment temperature of around 27
         degrees Celsius, the wine was pressed to tank and settled briefly, before being transferred to a combination of new (25%) and two-year-old barrels to
         undergo malolactic conversion. This wine was racked only once in this time and, after 18 months in oak, was emptied from barrel, settled, clarified and
         bottled.
         The Sheoak Vineyard makes expressive, medium-bodied Cabernets. This release is undoubtedly the most serious and best we have made to date. A
         wine that, if you have the patience, will improve and develop further complexity over the next decade. – Alana & Julian Langworthy


         “Destemmed, 2 weeks on skins, matured in French oak (25% new) for 15 months. Nothing to it really once you’ve done this as often as Julian Langwor-
         thy. Has all the quality of the luscious cassis fruit and ripe tannins”. James Halliday, 97 points
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