The perfect combination of old meets new or is it new meets old? Margaret River a superb region of the western Australian west coast ! Dark chewy black fruits with endless layers awash the mouth and are preceded by aromatic killer notes of cassis, leather, dried fruits and vanilla. The wine is immensely satisfying while tending to provoke thought and desire to have more to contemplate. Tannins are judiciously balanced and work well all the way through the wines depth and length.
At this price it is definitely a special occasion wine - BUT - Make that special occasion possible and buy some for the cellar - Will cellar well and is a good vintage to have to boast about later as the wine gathers pace.
Awards and Accolades
GOLD - China Wine & Spirits Awards 2016
96 Points - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion: "The dense but vibrant hue flags the sumptuous wine that follows, flooded with blackberry, blackcurrant and spice; while it flirts with full-bodied status, it has a supple and long, very well balanced, palate. The 5% Great Southern component isn't identifiable per se, but has played a role. Lovely wine."
93 Points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front "Howard Park’s Leston and Scotsdale releases rarely let you down. This is a hit. It’s a flood of blackcurrant and bay leaf-like flavour, pure and expressive but with a bit of gravitas too, before smoky/cedary oak notes polish things off nicely. Tannin is firm but hand-in-glove with the fruit. Margaret River cabernet sauvignon, in excellent shape."
From the Winery
Margaret River began the growing season with a rain filled soil profile and full catchments. Late spring was cool and windy with damaging north westerlies wreaking havoc on early varieties. The effect on flowering and set in Chardonnay and Shiraz reduced yields notably.Beyond this blustery start, the vintage was uniformly warm to hot with a week of annoyingly intermittent rains in early April to keep us on our toes. Yields were average and thanks to the favourable summer, the wines produced from the 2014 vintage are full of bold and ripe varietal fruit flavours, bright acidity and supple tannins.
The wine was blended from a selection of the best batches of Cabernet Sauvignon grown on our Leston vineyard, located in the Wilyabrup sub region of Margaret River.
Vinification occurred in closed stainless steel fermenters with diligent cap management to extract fine fruit tannin and strong varietal flavour. Selected parcels remained on skins post the fermentation to further enhance the tannin profile while others were pressed at dryness to capture fruit vibrancy. After pressing, each batch is matured separately in order to build a wine history over time. Barrel maturation for 18 months in 40% new and 60% older, French oak barriques ensures the thorough integration of oak and grape tannins. The wine had egg white fining & light filtration before bottling.
Analysis
pH: 3.56 Acidity: 6 g.lt Residual Sugar: 0.7g/lt
Don't Pay: $48.00
WBW Rating: 96/100
Closure: Stelvin
Region: Margaret River, WA
Winemaker: Janice McDonald
Drink now until: 2040
Alc/Vol: 14.5 %
