Clémentine is sourced entirely from Woodlands Brook Vineyard, established to Merlot and Malbec, Verdot and Franc, a superior northwest facing site on free draining Wilyabrup soils. A block of Cabernet vines were later added to a patch of auspicious heavy gravel clay soils, perfect for the realization of powerful Cabernet Sauvignon. Salinity, cocoa and clove, blood orange and river silt, the elegant palate brimming with ripe red fruits, a lovely mix of floral elements and winegum lozenge complexity, Clémentine lingers endlessly on a line of lively mineral acidity.
A half of Cabernet Sauvignon, the balance in equal proportions Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Vines are all treated to a traditional, fully organic viticulture, dry grown and closely husbanded by hand. Grapes are picked at vintage to a methodical timetable, determined by physiological ripeness of each individual parcel, row by row. Following the harvest, fruit is gently destemmed, hand sorted berry by berry, then crushed and fermented in small fermenters. The Cabernet Sauvignon component remains on skins for added complexity and tannin integration. Upin completion, batches are filled into a high proportion of new French oak barrels for eighteen months maturation.
TASTING NOTES