Beautiful dark cherry colour in the glass. Savoury spices, star anise and pepper berry, open up to sweet dark berries. The palate is elegant and structured. The dark berry flavours of blackberry, mulberry and into blueberries mingle with the savoury spices. There’s a meatiness to this wine, which combined with the spice notes reminiscent of salami. The tannins are silky soft and supple. The finish is rich and lingering. A wine that will age gracefully for at least another 10 years from the vintage date, if stored in ideal conditions.

From the Summer rainfall & river flooding in the Swan Valley, to the threat of not ripening any of the red grapes in Margaret River, the 2017 vintage will be remembered as one of the most nerve-racking and anxious seasons. It certainly beats all of the last 10 vintages seen at Sandalford.

Overall, the growing season, from Spring through to Autumn was much cooler than average. There were no heat extremes. This delayed ripening of all varieties by at least 3-4 weeks compared to normal. At the start of April, all of the red grapes were still on the vine, several blocks needing a good 4-5 weeks to fully ripen. With April normally the change in season, there were many hours spent watching the weather forecast, waiting for the rain to start. Unbelievably Mother Nature was on our side, April was one of the driest on record. The latest season ever for the winemaking team, with the last of the Cabernet harvested in early May. The wines produced this season are elegant, showing more flavour complexity and concentration.

Picked in late April to early May, these Shiraz grapes were crushed before being inoculated with selected yeast strains and fermented in open fermenters. The must was mixed by pumping over, twice daily to keep the skins and juice in constant contact. Based on taste, the fermenting must was pressed once the perfect balance of colour, flavour and tannin extraction was reached. After the completion of primary ferment, the wine was inoculated for Malolactic Fermentation (MLF), before being transferred to 100% French oak barrels. The wine then spent 14 months maturing in barrel prior to blending and bottling.