This is a complex and intense wine with flavours of blueberries, loganberries, dried mint, oregano, bay leaf, black olive, and dark chocolate. The layers of flavours are lifted and supported by finely textured grainy tannins. The finish is long, with lingering flavours of mint and blueberries. This wine will cellar well for the next 10 to15 years, or perhaps longer!

Geographe, from vines we planted in 2005

The style we are aiming for here is a medium bodied cabernet style, with complex layers of flavours coming from the grapes, integrated with flavours and tannins coming from extended maturation for up to 2 years in a mix of french oak barrels. We ferment our Cabernet Sauvignon in open topped fermenters, with alternating hand plunging, followed by draining off skins into a tank, then returning onto skins with lots of splashing and aeration. A portion of the ferment is barrel fermented to add extra complexity. Once a day during the active part of ferment, after draining off skins, a portion of the Cabernet Sauvignon ferment is returned into two new French barrels to ferment, with the balance being returned back onto the skins in the fermenters. The wine ferments up to 10 days on skins in both the open topped fermenter and in the barrels, then it is pressed off through our basket press. The Cabernet Sauvignon is matured for 2 years in french oak barrel of different ages.

Elevation refers to both the location of our vineyard and to the status that we place our Cabernet sauvignon at, being our flagship red wine. The Whicher Ridge Vineyard is nestled in a hidden valley in the Whicher Range, at an elevation of 170 metres above sea level. The vines are planted in ancient gravelly ironstone hillside plantings, and the cool winds at night coming off the Southern Ocean during summer, give rise to wines of intensity and finesse. We are on exactly same latitude as Vasse Felix and Juniper Estate, but we usually pick our Cabernet Sauvignon a week or 2 later than these 2 vineyards.

This wine has a gravelly to powdery tannin texture and a mix of blueberry and savoury flavours, so the recommendation is to pair with dishes of similar texture. Using our wine sensory garden affinity beds as inspiration, flavours pairings are bay leaf, rosemary, black olive, oregano, sage, thyme, caraway, tarragon and mint, Beans, broccoli, kale, beetroot, carrots, pumpkin and lentils.