Clairault Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

WHY WE LOVE IT

• A classic Margaret River blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
• This wine comes from two vineyards, Clairault Vineyard, Wilyabrup and Yallingup Protea Farm & Vineyard, Yallingup.
• You can cellar this wine up to 8 years, however we enjoy it for freshness now.

Varietal Composition: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon; 18% Merlot; 3% Petit Verdot

Elaboration: The Cabernet Sauvignon portion of the blend is de-stemmed and crushed, so that each berry is just split. This is to ensure minimal berry degradation during the fermentation process. Our Merlot is crushed as to fully expose the delicate flesh and promote a more refined and elegant textural development. Our ferments are, by industry standards, cool and gentle, allowing slower, more controlled extraction of tannin and flavor. The wine is pumped over three times a day and then judiciously backed off as the wine develops. This wine was on skins in the fermenter for 14 days, before gentle pressing and barreling down. The result is clean, pure fruit flavors, boasting supple yet powerful tannin. The wine was aged in French oak for 10 months bottling.

Tasting Notes: Red fruits, cedar, cassis leaf and black cherries. The palate is red and black fruits, plum blossom and roasted coffee.

PRESS

2016 – 94 James Halliday

2015 – 91 Wine Enthusiast

PRODUCER BACKGROUND