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    St. Andrews

    Cabernet Sauvignon - Back Vintage 2013

    Result Bronze 0

    Result Silver 0

    Result Gold 0

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

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    Honours and awards
    Accolades

    Honours and awards

    • Wine Show
    • Award
    • International Wine Guide Awards 2021
    • Great Gold
    • Catavinum World Wine & Spirit Competition 2021
    • Great Gold
    • Tasters Guild Wine Lovers Competition 2021
    • Gold
    • World Wine Championships Awards BTI 2021
    • Gold
    • World Wine Championships Awards BTI 2021
    • Gold
    • Cinve Awards 2021
    • Gold
    • Hilton Head Wine & Food Festival International Judging 2021
    • Gold
    • Mundus Vini International Wine Awards 2021
    • Gold
    • Gilbert & Gaillard International Competition 2021
    • Gold
    • International Wine Contest Bucharest 2021
    • Gold
    • San Francisco International Wine Competition 2021
    • Gold
    • Intervin Wine Awards 2021
    • Gold
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    Wine details
    VITAL STATISTICS

    Wine details

    • 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.

    • 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 fruit was then transferred to stainless steel tanks where it was left to cold soak on skins for a period of 5 days before being inoculated with a specialist Cabernet Sauvignon yeast strain. Fermentation then ensued at a constant 22 - 25 degrees Celsius and the must was gently mixed twice daily. The wine was allowed a period of extended skin contact before being pressed and transferred to French oak barrels to complete the secondary malolactic fermentation. Once MLF was completed, the wine was racked off lees, fined and then then transferred back to fine-grained French oak barrels (50% 1 year old, 50% 2 - 3 year old) for maturation. After a period of 18 months oak maturation and minimal filtration, the wine was bottled in August 2015.

    • In the Clare Valley, growing conditions leading up to vintage 2013 could best be described as benign, apart from a frost event of mid-October which impacted several blocks on our estate vineyards. There were very few significant rainfall events over the growing period with the season being described overall as dry. The first week of December saw a 30mm down pour which was most definitely a season changer. Without the rain event, the overall yields from 2013 would have been very low. Harvest conditions were excellent with the first white varieties picked in early February. Our winemakers report that quality is outstanding across all varieties, with excellent acid balance and flavour development displayed in the resultant wines.

      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: 6.72
      • Alc %: 14.69
      • PH: 3.55
      • Residual Sugar: 0.50

    • This wine is evolving well at release yet should cellar well to 2028 or possibly longer.

    Download full winemaker notes

    10

    Reviews
    EXPERT APPRAISALS

    Reviews

    • ,

      12 Jan 2015
      94/100
      Opaque crimson color. Minty eucalyptus aromas and a dark flower perfume lead to ample black currant fruit. A nice thread of minerality is discernible in the nose and on the palate. Wood aromas and flavors of coffee and chocolate have been seamlessly interwoven into this elegant Clare Valley claret. Those of us old enough and fortunate enough to have experienced the 1970s bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa wineries such as Yverden and Heitz Martha’s will find this red conjuring up the same palate memories. This is one of the best renditions of Cabernet Sauvignon I have had from the South Australia wine regions.
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    • Marc Hinton, MIxed case: Excellent reds for Valentine's Day

      2 Jan 2016
      What a wonderful treat! Distinct notes of cassis and licorice that dance across the palate. Full-bodied, and superb.
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    • Huon Hooke,

      6 Jan 2016
      92/100
      Deep red/purple colour and an intense black fruit and eucalyptus 'forest floor' aromas. There's a hint of tomato bush and a lick of mint as well as cabernet berries. The palate is rich and intense, with a backing of emery-like tannins, which are emphatic yet smooth.
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    • Ronn Weigand, Australia Cabernet Sauvignon

      9 Jan 2016
      5 stars
      Wonderful single vineyard Cabernet. It is full bodied, very vibrant and complex in flavor, supple in texture, crisp and very long on the palate, with a moderately tannic, persistent finish. In aroma/flavor, it tastes of cassis, cherry, eucalyptus, blackberry, black pepper, cedar, and spicy oak. Needs aging. Aged 18 months in French oak barrels.
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    • Anthony Dias Blue,

      2 Jan 2016
      92/100
      Spicy and minty with floral notes and smooth texture; fleshy and ripe with blackcurrant and plum; lush and long.
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    • Josh Raynolds, Australia Rediscovers its Mojo

      3 Jan 2016
      91/100
      Bright purple. Deeply pitched aromas of blackcurrant, cherry-cola and licorice, with smoke and vanilla accents building in the glass. Deeply concentrated yet energetic on the palate, offering juicy, nicely delineated black and blue fruit flavors. Finishes sweet and very long, with a hint of candied licorice and fine-grained, slowly building tannins.
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    • Angus Hughson,

      8 Jan 2016
      92/100
      Bright opaque ruby. An attractive and multilayered South Australian red with iron, earth and blackberry fruit with ample fruit and toasty oak. Dry, and concentrated in the mouth with dense fruit and slightly hard tannins and baked fruits it finishes with good length and is a style that will build further complexity in bottle.
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    • Rich Cook,

      1 Jan 2016
      93/100
      I've followed this wine since the 2006 vintage, and it's always a fine performer. The expected powerful mint character is here in youth, and a recent taste of the 2006 suggests that some time will mellow the mint and bring the rich berry and currant profile center stage. All the supple tannin and acidic structure for aging is here in this wine, and it's a perfect illustration of the "sense of place" idea that you hear us wine geeks talk about.
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    • Joe Czerwinski, Advanced Buying Guide - Wine Enthusiast

      2 Jan 2017
      92/100 Cellar Selection
      Grilled-toast notes swirl around the bouquet of this cassis-scented wine. Leafy elements add complexity without being green, while a lifted cherry element brings vibrancy to the mix. This firm, structured wine features a long, mouthwatering finish that bodes well for cellaring. Try it after 2020.
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    • Yvonne Lorkin, Sips to dazzle taste buds

      5 Jan 2018
      You could, based on the number of gold medals on its grill, deduce this wine is more than a tad flash, and you’d be correct. However, I just have to tell you how incredibly seductive and alluring it is. Espresso, cocoa and ripe plum and boysenberry flavours burst from the glass, cuddled with cedar, smoke and silky spices. It is generously proportioned, elegant and delicious, I just adore it!
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