Country
Australia
Tasting Notes
89pts, Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate (#161) 10/31/05 "The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon possesses pure black currant and fruit characteristics interwoven with underbrush and earth notes. Moderately tannic, with a sweet, expansive mid-palate, and a heady finish, it should drink well for 7-8 years."
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes:
The Cabernet varieal character in this wine is very powerful with ;
violets and blueberry hints gently supported by cedar notes and spice.
The palate is flavousome, powerful and long with balanced acidity and
long, fine tannins.
Food Accompaniments
Grilled meats
Winemaker Notes
- Viticultural practices:
- Yields per acre: 2 tons/acre
- Cases produced: 1,000
- Appellation: Clare Valley
- Filtration and fining: Minimal at bottling
- Varietal composition: Cabernet Sauvignon
- Wood treatment: 80% French Oak / 20% American Oak Hogsheads & Barriques
- Length of barrel maturation: 18 months
- Winemaker's notes: Crushed and de-stemmed, fermented on skins for two weeks in Potters Fermenters. Drained and returned once a day. Pressed at sugar dryness, all pressings returned. Malolactic in tank.
Soil is one of the most important determining factors for plant health and flavor, especially with vines. The soils at Koonowla are principally terra-rossa on the rises and higher country and rich alluvial loam on the flats. The plantings have been carefully selected for variety and soil type with Cabernet Sauvignon on the lower country and rows of Shiraz, Riesling, Merlot, and Semillon where land rises. The majority of the vineyard has a planting density of 750-800 vines per acre with older vines in rows of 12 feet width and younger vines brought back to 10 feet to control vigor and bring the vineyard in line with modern machinery and work practices. The annual rainfall average at Koonowla is 22 inches at 1000 ft above sea level. Even with reliable rainfall, Koonowla is careful to ensure a balanced and sustainable environment with mulching (as cover cropping between rows), adopted to ensure sustainability. Narrow widths of sown crop are cut and windrowed along the vine rows to preserve moisture and create a valuable organic micro-environment, further enhancing nutrition, soil development and structure. The vineyard estate is able to be drip irrigated with careful and monitored applications of 2”- 4” of water per year, generally applied between November and April, the hottest and driest months; however, it is monitored to ensure the perfect balance between plant yield and maximum flavor, never exceeding the estate policy of 2-4 tons per acre at harvest.
Varietal
Cabernet Sauvignon
