Mills Reef Bespoke Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2019

Description

Oak, Plum, Spice

Two champion varieties from the Gimblett Gravels wine growing district come seamlessly together in this delicious fusion, bursting with Black Doris plum and brambly black berry fruits, complemented with subtle cedary oak and a lingering spicy liquorice finish.

The grapes for this generous wine were grown in the stony soils of the prestigious Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District, on low yielding closely-spaced vines. Sourced from the Mills Reef Mere Road site, the fruit was picked without duress thanks to excellent sunny weather over harvest enabling unpressured picking decisions based solely on when each parcel had reached optimum ripeness and condition. Harvesting of the Cab Franc occurred on the 15th of April, with the Cabernet Sauvignon 11 days later on the 26th April 2019.

The grapes were gently crushed, allowing some whole berries to remain intact, with the resulting must then transferred into open-top fermenters for a 4-day cold soak. Each vineyard parcel was kept separate. Fermentation proceeded with daily air rummage of the cap for colour, flavour and fine tannin extraction. The resulting wines were racked once and aged for 15 months in quality French oak 300L hogsheads (47% new wood).  After rigorous blending trials to achieve the precise balance and flavour, the wine was left un-fined, and lightly filtered with bottling under screwcap on the 1st November 2021.

Food Pairing: The ideal accompaniment with braised beef cheeks and porcini mushrooms.