2020 Clairault Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon
Blend
86.4% Cabernet Sauvignon
13.6% Cabernet Franc
Vineyard
Clairault Vineyard, Wilyabrup
Winemaking Note
The fruit is harvested, de-stemmed and crushed, so that each berry is just split. This is to ensure minimal berry degradation during the fermentation process and to promote fresh, clean flavour production by our very specifically selected yeast strain. Our ferments are, by industry standards, cool and gentle, allowing slower, more controlled extraction of tannin and flavour. The wine is pumped over three times a day and then judiciously backed off as the wine develops.
This wine was on skins in the fermenter for 14 days, before gentle pressing and barrelling down. The result is clean, pure fruit flavours, boasting supple yet powerful tannin. The wine was aged in French oak barriques for 10 months before the wine was removed from barrels, clarified and bottled.
Vintage Conditions
The 2020 vintage was unforgettable. The region experienced a perfect growing season with warmer than average spring temperatures and ideal summer conditions. Little to no rain, low disease risk and timely flowering of the Marri trees to distract the birds, eased pressure in the vineyard. The relative ease of vintage was in stark contrast to the happenings of the world at the time, with ferocious bushfires ravaging the East Coast and the Covid-19 outbreak unravelling. Yields were down in 2020 resulting in exceptional fruit concentration.
Aroma
Red and blue fruits, cassis, mulberry, cherries, violets and graphite.
Palate
Pure fruit tannin packed into lines of coating gravel and granite-based tannin and texture. Driven, precise and generous, it finishes as it begins, unnerving in its concentration of fruit and sheer persistence.
Cellaring
Up to 10 years, however we enjoy it for freshness now.
Alcohol
14.5%