Awards and Accolades

2013 Vintage: 95 Points - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion
"An 86/10/4% blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec and cabernet franc, standard Hay Shed Hill vinification, then French oak for 13 months. All about complexity, built in part on the fruit blend, part the tannin structure, part oak, and part the terroir. A quintessential Margaret River style; there are even better examples, but you have to pay three or four times as much to get one."

2012 Vintage: 90 Points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
"Clean, well-balanced, fruit-driven and varietal. It drinks well as a youngster but its inherent balance and general swagger of tannin should hold it in good stead in the cellar. Generally gravelly and curranty. Fruity, but not sweet, with dried leaf matter whispering away in the background..."

From the Winery

Margaret River has experienced an unprecedented sequence of outstanding vintages – all with their own twists and turns but all of the highest quality. 2014 will prove to be another highlight in this run, but with a profound difference that may not be realized for several years.

The 2014 vintage commenced in a very similar vein to the last three vintages with hot and dry conditions in January and February. In contrast, however to recent vintages the season cooled considerably in March leading to a long and extended ripening for the red varieties. In fact the harvest of Cabernet at Hay Shed Hill was two to three weeks later than the previous four vintages with warm days, cool nights and a total absence of rainfall providing a slow and steady ripening rather than a rapid accumulation of sugar and allowing all the colour and flavour components to develop.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Hay Shed Hill vineyard were harvested at optimum ripeness from the outstanding 2014 vintage. The grapes were de-stemmed into open topped
vessels for fermentation on skins with traditional pump over cap management. At the completion of fermentation the wine was left on skins for a further 10 days to maximize the development of the mature tannin. Maturation in French oak barrels for 13 months added further complexity and structure without dominating the fruit.