St. Andrews

Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Complex and elegant, offering rich fruit characters of cassis and blackcurrant with earthy nuances. French oak giving hints of cedar and tobacco to finish.

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Wine details

Tasting Notes

At release, the wine is a deep, dark garnet colour with a subtle purple hue to the edge. The wine has an enticing, lifted bouquet of violets, blackcurrants, blackberry and a hint of chocolate. The overall aroma is one of understated richness and elegance. On the palate it is a very well-balanced wine with ripe black fruit characters, coffee and chocolate interweaving harmoniously. There is an understated power to the wine, with layers of complexity building across the palate and then finishing elegantly with long, fine tannins. It is a generous wine yet retains poise and the elegance of great Cabernet Sauvignon.
Vinification

Once harvested, the grapes for this wine were taken the short distance to the winery where they were gently de-stemmed to protect the vibrant fruit characters and minimise any maceration and extraction of harsh tannins. The majority of the fruit was then transferred to stainless steel tanks for fermentation. A small proportion (approximately 20%) was fermented in headless French oak barrels. In both instances, the fermenting must was gently pumped over or mixed twice daily before being pressed at 2 Baume and transferred to French oak barrels (50% 1 year old, 50% 2 – 3 year old) to complete its secondary malolactic fermentation. After completing malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked off lees prior to final blending. The blended wine was then transferred to fine-grained French oak barrels and matured for 18 months prior to filtering and bottling.
Vintage conditions

Growing conditions leading up to vintage 2012 were relatively mild, with regular spring rains promoting excellent vine canopy growth. Budburst was approximately 10 days earlier than 'average', and this early start flowed through until harvest time with most varieties harvested 1 to 2 weeks earlier than in a 'typical' year. Harvest conditions were excellent with only one substantial rain event occurring during harvest. Whilst it happened after most white varieties were picked, it had a positive effect on the red varieties, appearing to freshen them up, particularly the dry-grown blocks. Ideal ripening and flavor development conditions persisted to the end of April when the majority of the harvest was completed. Overall, yields were somewhat lower than long-term averages but the winemakers reported that the quality was outstanding across all varieties, with intense colour and excellent flavour development.

St Andrews Vineyard, Blocks A70 – planted in the river flats or on a gentle east-facing slope, in the wind shadow. The soils are predominantly red loam with chalky limestone substrate.
Vineyard

Clare Valley
Technical details
- Acid: 6.69
- Alc %: 14.2
- PH: 3.50
- Residual Sugar: 0.30
Cellaring Notes

This wine is evolving well at release yet should cellar well to 2027 or possibly longer.

Winemaker NotesAt release, the wine is a deep, dark garnet colour with a subtle purple hue to the edge. The wine has an enticing, lifted bouquet of violets, blackcurrants, blackberry and a hint of chocolate. The overall aroma is one of understated richness and elegance. On the palate it is a very well-balanced wine with ripe black fruit characters, coffee and chocolate interweaving harmoniously. There is an understated power to the wine, with layers of complexity building across the palate and then finishing elegantly with long, fine tannins. It is a generous wine yet retains poise and the elegance of great Cabernet Sauvignon.

Once harvested, the grapes for this wine were taken the short distance to the winery where they were gently de-stemmed to protect the vibrant fruit characters and minimise any maceration and extraction of harsh tannins. The majority of the fruit was then transferred to stainless steel tanks for fermentation. A small proportion (approximately 20%) was fermented in headless French oak barrels. In both instances, the fermenting must was gently pumped over or mixed twice daily before being pressed at 2 Baume and transferred to French oak barrels (50% 1 year old, 50% 2 – 3 year old) to complete its secondary malolactic fermentation. After completing malolactic fermentation, the wine was racked off lees prior to final blending. The blended wine was then transferred to fine-grained French oak barrels and matured for 18 months prior to filtering and bottling.

Growing conditions leading up to vintage 2012 were relatively mild, with regular spring rains promoting excellent vine canopy growth. Budburst was approximately 10 days earlier than 'average', and this early start flowed through until harvest time with most varieties harvested 1 to 2 weeks earlier than in a 'typical' year. Harvest conditions were excellent with only one substantial rain event occurring during harvest. Whilst it happened after most white varieties were picked, it had a positive effect on the red varieties, appearing to freshen them up, particularly the dry-grown blocks. Ideal ripening and flavor development conditions persisted to the end of April when the majority of the harvest was completed. Overall, yields were somewhat lower than long-term averages but the winemakers reported that the quality was outstanding across all varieties, with intense colour and excellent flavour development.

St Andrews Vineyard, Blocks A70 – planted in the river flats or on a gentle east-facing slope, in the wind shadow. The soils are predominantly red loam with chalky limestone substrate.

Clare Valley

Acid: 6.69

Alc %: 14.2

PH: 3.50

Residual Sugar: 0.30

This wine is evolving well at release yet should cellar well to 2027 or possibly longer.

St. Andrews

VITAL STATISTICS

Wine details

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