HITHER & YON SHIRAZ CABERNET SAUVIGNON

2014 Summer conditions were significantly warmer than average with two heat waves through January and one in early February tested the limits of grapevine tolerance to extreme heat. Equally damaging were extremely high-speed winds, which reduced berry set, stripped leaves and reduced the size of canopies and increased the level of fruit exposure. Then the opposite happened. Heavy rain in mid February rehydrated vines and freshened up vine leaves. The rain also signaled the beginning of a pattern of cooler daytime temperatures; which allowed fruit to finish ripening during some relatively moderate temperatures. The moisture boost also fortunately helped improve fruit balance and crop levels for the district. The 2014 harvest was then prolonged by a slow ripening period.
Ultimately the weather though March and April produced one of the most relaxed vintages since the early 2000’s. This was important for this Shiraz Cabernet as the extended ripening period allowed for excellent flavour development and balance, however at less concentration and body than what we normally see in this classic Australian blend. So we focused on good natural acidity and bright fresh fruit when picking.

The Shiraz fruit was hand picked and delivered to the winery February 28. The Cabernet fruit was delivered to the winery on March 14. Both parcels were gently de-stemmed and crushed to 2 tonne open top fermenters. Once fermentation had commenced the must was pumped over 4 times every 24 hours to extract colour, flavour and tannins. During ferment the must was kept between 22-26 degrees. Primary fermentation took place for 8-10 days on both batches. Once the wines were dry, they were pressed to tank where the free run juice and pressings were combined. The Shiraz was transferred to 2 year French oak 400 litre Puncheons where it underwent malolactic fermentation. The Cabernet was matured in 4-5 year old French oak Barriques. After 7 months the wines were racked off lees and returned to the same oak for a further 6 months of maturation. Once the blend was worked out, the wines were racked out of oak then blended and into tank for two months prior to bottling. Following micro screen filtration, bottling took place on August 28, 2014. This wine is sealed under Stelvin screw cap.