2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Colour:Deep red with purple hues

Nose:The perfume is intense and complex, exhibiting ripe mulberries, blackcurrant pastilles and black plums, with hints of pot pourri and cedar adding spice in the background

Palate:The generous palate is full bodied and crammed full of dark forest fruits, cassis, and chocolate characters. Powerful yet refined in structure the fleshy fruits, are framed by fine French oak and complimented by dense, velvety tannins. Quintessential Margaret River, with a lingering Cabernet finish

Cellaring Potential:Powerful, vibrant, and robust in its youth, this is a benchmark Cabernet from Xanadu which will certainly benefit from further bottle maturation and will cellar comfortably for 10+ years

Varietal:Cabernet Sauvignon (90%) Petit Verdot (5%) Malbec (5%)

Vintage:2020

Region:Margaret River

Conditions:Average winter rainfall followed by a warm/dry spring set up an early start to the growing season. Fruit set was variable, resulting in lower yields across most varieties. The warm summer daytime temperatures combined with low yields saw harvest begin very early, at the end of January (one of our earliest ever) and all whites were harvested before the end of February. An incredible display of Marri blossom meant bird pressure was practically non-existent in the first half of vintage, and a short rain event after the white harvest offered some respite setting up the reds perfectly. Warm conditions continued throughout March, with all of the reds being harvested by the first week of April, our earliest ever harvest completion. In summary, 2020 will be remembered as an excellent vintage in Margaret River. Cabernet, and a beautiful little portion of Petit Verdot, from the Timber Creek Vineyard in Wilyabrup make up 50% of the blend along with 45% of fruit from the dry grown Victory Point vineyard, which is situated in the subregion of Treeton. The remaining 5% (Malbec) is from our own Stevens Road vineyard in the Wallcliffe subregion

Alcohol:14%

Bottle Size:750ml

pH:3.52

Winemaking Notes:Fruit was crushed/destemmed before predominantly small batch fermentation in a combination of static and open fermenters Fermentation takes 7-8 days @ 24 – 26o C, during which the cap is managed using a combination of aerative pumping over as well as regular plunging by hand. After fermentation the Timber Creek Cabernet component (45%) experienced a period of extended maceration on skins before a very gentle pressing.The wine was matured for 14 months in French oak (40% new barriques) before the blend was assembled