2018 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

Colour:Deep red with purple hues

Nose:Dark fruits of the forest, black plums and cassis with hints of dried herbs, cinnamon and spice

Palate:Full-bodied yet refined, the plush palate offers a core of inky berry fruits; blackcurrants, Satsuma plums and graphite, all framed by subtle cedar / spicy oak characters. This dense wine is well structured, with a taut acid backbone layered with dark fleshy fruit characterstics, ripe tannins and a lingering fruit finish. Approximately one third of the fruit is Estate grown in the Wallcliffe subregion, while the remaining two thirds consists of fruit from mature vineyards in the more northern Margaret River subregions of Wilyabrup, Treeton and Yallingup.

Varietal:Cabernet Sauvignon (92%) Petit Verdot (5%) Malbec (3%)

Vintage:2018

Region:Margaret River

Conditions:The growing season began with good, even budburst after average Winter rainfall. The mild Spring which followed ensured that there was good flowering and fruit set. A moderate start to Summer, with no heat extremes, set up the harvest well with white varieties offering great flavour intensity and bright acidity. There was an incredible display of Marri blossom (tagged as a once in a generation ‘mega-blossom’) which meant bird pressure was practically nonexistent whilst the whites were harvested. A minor rain event occurred in mid-March, which was followed by fine warm conditions which prevailed right through to middle of April allowing all red varieties to achieve great flavour and tannin ripeness. In summary 2018 will be remembered as an outstanding vintage!

Alcohol:14.50%

Bottle Size:750ml

pH:3.5

Winemaking Notes:Fruit was crushed/destemmed before predominantly small batch fermentation in a combination of static and open fermenters (20% of the components were cold macerated for 3-4 days). Fermentation takes 7-8 days at 24 – 26°C, during which the cap is managed using a combination of aerative pumping over as well as regular plunging by hand. After fermentation 40% of the components experienced a period of extended maceration on skins 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, and returned to older French barriques for a further 2 months maturation prior to bottling.