Our wine.

2023 proved an extended yet very rewarding vintage in Margaret River. Optimal, dry weather conditions paired with the absence of any significant climatic challenges or disease pressure set the scene for a moderate season, ideal for gentle, consistent ripening across all varieties, whites, reds and Margaret Rivers king varietal Cabernet Sauvignon.

Winter temperatures were lower than average, which made for a quick senescence and sound dormancy for the vines. There was markedly less-than-average rain; however, the vineyards received sufficient supply to recharge soil moisture levels, paving the way for a promising growing season ahead. The growing season began with a late budburst after a relatively cold winter that pushed vine development back by about 3 weeks for this vineyard and Spring saw less rain and cooler conditions than usual, resulting in a slow start to canopy growth and an extended flowering period.

January brought consistently warm, sunny days, which saw vines start to catch up nicely on their development. Veraison was delayed by around 3 weeks for the Cabernet Sauvignon. February, dry with plenty of sunshine and no extreme heat, provided perfect ripening conditions and March saw cool mornings and evenings retain natural acid in the fruit. At the same time, short periods of peak heat during the day were ideal for slow, even ripening of northern Margaret River region Cabernet Sauvignon. The only negative was that the Marri tree blossom was scarce this year, which made grapes an easy target for the native birds, and as a result, bird monitoring and control was required.

This fruit comes from a single vineyard in the Yallingup sub region in Margaret River. Yallingup is known for producing well ripened red varietals and this block is on the northern fringes of the region allowing for earlier ripening. The site’s positioning combined with the warmer and slightly longer veraison for both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot’s desirable ripe flavours, pronouncing themselves quickly and beautifully with green characters falling away in these conditions.

On the whole, our general take on vintage 2023 is that wines are characterised by intense aromatics, plush concentrated fruit, great structure and depth of flavour driven by good natural acidity. Delicacy and elegance at the forefront. A stunningly epic Margaret River vintage.

The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot fruit was co-harvested as a field blend by a selective harvesting method which allows for whole berry harvesting, minimal maceration off the vine and a preliminary sort prior to going to picking bin. The fruit was naturally co-fermented in a stainless steel tank with gentle pump overs for two weeks before being sent to French oak barriques for 12 months maturation.

Co-fermentation produces a handful of benefits – colour and preservation, complexity of texture and tannins, ripeness and aromatics. By blending the juice before fermentation, we get the opportunity to change the chemical makeup of the must and can produce something truly unique – avoiding having to manipulate wines to tweak colour, alcohol level or other attributes prior to bottling. This process fits with our philosophy of reducing intervention in the winery where possible.

No new oak was used, only 3-4 year old oak to ensure fruit expression was the focus for this wine.

Deep crimson colour in glass. The nose hits of Margaret River with some added aromatic lift from the conferment characters. Ripe rich berries with some light, distinct leafy and brambly characteristics come together. This wine has is a full-bodied wine which is still both soft and rich. On the palate it has well rounded tannins with concentrated fruit flavours.