Full-bodied yet refined, the plush palate offers a core of inky berry fruits; boysenberry, blackcurrants and black plums all well framed by subtle cedar/spicy oak and dark chocolate characters. This dense wine is well structured, with a taught acid backbone layered with dark fleshy fruit characteristics, supple tannins and a lingering fruit finish.
Accolades and Awards:
96 Points, Special Value Wine - James Halliday, Wine Companion "91% cabernet sauvignon, 5% malbec, 4% petit verdot, crushed and destemmed, static and open fermenters, 33% undergoing post-ferment maceration for 4 weeks, matured for 14 months in French oak (40% new) before blending. One of six '14 Xanadu cabernets, you really need to keep your wits about you. Great colour is no surprise, nor is the majesty of the cassis-filled bouquet and palate. While there is an element of barrel selection (and trickle down of lesser barrels, and possible promotion) each wine does have its own personality, part shaped by the vineyard, part in the winery. Here the extended maceration has refined the tannins without stripping the fruit."
TROPHY - The Cabernet Trophy - National Wine Show of Australia 2016 GOLD - Cabernet Challenge, Halliday Wine Companion 2016 GOLD - Margaret River Wine Show 2016
2013 Vintage: 95 Points - Ray Jordan Wine Guide "Another stunning statement of classic Margaret River Cabernet. Packed with all those black currant, plums and chocolate black olive characters you expect. Powerful it is but there’s polish and finesse here that stamps it as a wine of the highest class."
From the Winery
Fruit was crushed/destemmed before predominantly small batch fermentation in a combination of static and open fermenter. Fermentation takes 7-8 days @ 24 – 26 degrees C, during which the cap is managed using a combination of aerative pumping over as well as regular plunging by hand. After fermentation about a third of the components experienced a period of extended maceration, being left on skins for 4 weeks before a very gentle pressing. MLF takes place in a combination of tank and barrel. The wine was matured for 14 months in French oak (40% new barriques) before the blend was assembled.
Don't Pay: $35.00
WBW Rating: 96/100
Closure: Stelvin
Region: Margaret River, WA
Winemaker: Glenn Goodall
Drink now until: 2035
Alc/Vol: 14 %