85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Petit Verdot, 6.5% Merlot, 2% Malbec
The inspiration for the Fraser Gallop Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is taken from some of the great wines of Bordeaux. The aim is to use a number of techniques to emphasise complexity in a single vineyard wine and to make a wine that allows the fruit to shine, complemented by premium oak, while maintaining great structure and finesse. This is done by the addition of small amounts of Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec and the use of a number of different techniques during fermentation of the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winemaker's Notes
Vintage 2008
The 2008 season was another great year with a wet winter in 2007 laying down the foundations of ample moisture in the clay sub-soils that bode well for the dry 2008 growing season. The hail storm that passed over our vineyard in spring devastated the Chardonnay and Petit Verdot blocks but missed the Cabernet. Picking times for the 2008 vintage were as normal as you get, not early, not late and we achieved full ripeness with lovely mature tannins, cassis and mulberry flavours abound and very little green or excessive herbaceous flavours, and without any disease pressure. It was a warm season without any major heat spikes, confirming the Margaret River region as one of the most consistent premium grape growing regions in Australia.
Winemaking Notes
The hand-picked fruit was destemmed with minimal crushing to keep berries whole and chilled to 8°C for three days cold soak in closed fermenters (designed with a one-to-one ratio of height and length, great for colour and flavour extraction). The wine was pumped over daily using a turbopiguer which is able to pump whole grapes at up to 70, 000 litres per hour allowing better homogenisation and extraction without damaging the berries. During fermentation, the wine was tasted daily to monitor the tannin extraction and flavour development. One batch of Cabernet was pressed off early and completed fermentation in oak; this batch had great fruit sweetness and oak integration. The use of long skin contact, 30 days post fermentation, resulted in real savoury flavours and complex tannins in another batch. The Petit Verdot and Merlot were both fermented in open top fermenters and hand plunged daily while the Malbec was fermented in a closed fermenter and pumped over daily. All batches spent 18 months in French barriques from selected Bordeaux cooperages, of which one third was new oak, during this time they were racked twice. Prior to bottling all Cabernet batches, along with the Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec were tasted and bench trials carried out to reach the final blend. Fining trials were carried out however no additions were required. The wine was crossflow filtered prior to bottling.
Colour
Very deep, rich red in colour with vibrant crimson hues.
Nose
The wine jumps out of the glass with aromas of bramble, cassis and plum, complemented by coffee bean and cigar box aromas from the use of French oak. Higher lifted notes of violets, tea leaves and strawberries make for an attractive and alluring nose.
Palate
A structured and complex wine, the palate reflects the concentrated dry grown fruit with flavours of morello cherry, dark berry fruits and aniseed, enveloped in spicy, cedery and tight grained French oak. Ripe powdery tannins and fine acid give this wine structure and length.
Cellaring
Ability to age gracefully for the next 15 years.
