2003 Vintage
Region: King Valley, Victoria
Grapes: Sangiovese
Vintage 2003
The winter was dry. Budburst began in mid to late September and above average temperatures and the warm, dry conditions throughout October, November and December aided fast flowering and good fruit set. The very dry conditions throughout the remainder of the growing season resulted in smaller berry sizes and bunch weights, this caused yields to be fifteen to twenty percent below the average of previous vintages. White varieties matured earlier than average with lower alcohol levels, while red varieties were big in structure and more concentrated in colour with good fruit balance.
Vinification
The grapes for this wine have been hand selected from a small region within one of our leading blocks of Sangiovese. The vines within this area consistently produce grapes with rich flavour and concentration. The grapes are hand picked and then crushed and de-stemmed to an oak barrel fermenter for fermentation. A yeast strain selected from Brunello di Montalcino was used to ferment the wine, this helps to give the wine more body and mouth feel. The use of oak barrel fermentation constructs the back palate and helps to stabilize colour and tannins. The wine is then drained to French oak barrels where it matures for 18 months. The wine is then bottled and aged a further 2 years prior to release.
Maturation
Type of Oak: 100% Gamba
40% Nevers 20% Fontainbleau, 20% Allier 20% Other
Oak Age: 80 % New oak
Oak Toasting: 50 % Heavy, 50% Medium
Fining agent: egg whites
Filtration: Polypropylene filters
The Wine
The colour is a strong garnet brick red. The nose is seductive with multi layering that after a few moments in the glass opens wide to warm fragrances of spice, black cherries, dusty plums,leather, star anise, melding with nuances of sour cherry preserve and cigar box. The palate is powerful and concentrated showing sumptuous dense texture with fine grained tannins. The nuances of the nose follow on to the palate, plums, morello and wild cherries balanced by rich dense fruit. The wines has lovely acidity and great length. Drink now or to Cellar 2012
Technical information
Varietal Percentage: 100% Sangiovese
Picked: 28 March 2003
Area Harvested: 0.5 Ha
Yield: 40Hl/Ha
Average Brix: 25
Final Analysis
Alcohol: 14.2%
Acid: 6.3g/l
pH: 3.55
Bottled: August 2005
Released: June 2007
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