2022 Grampians Cabernet Shiraz

The 2021-2022 growing season in Stawell was heavily affected by La Nina weather conditions. The cooler and wetter ripening conditions allowed for longer hang time, allowing the Cabernet to enter a richer, black and blue fruit spectrum while the Shiraz was very red fruit and spice driven.

Cabernet and Shiraz make many famous Australian blends and are terrifically suited to many of our wine regions. I’ve always found Cabernet to be exceptional from the Grampians. I believe that this is due to many of the vineyards in the region being quite marginal for both Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. This was particularly true in the

2022 growing season where cold and wet weather made ripening to high alcohol levels almost impossible. We picked the Cabernet and Shiraz for these wines in the second week of April ahead of another rain front and the alcohol level in the wine is significantly lower than the flavour profile suggests.

The grapes were destemmed and fermented in open-top vats and immediately started producing aromas of brown baking spiced, cassis, and graphite. The wines were allowed to gently ferment until they completed. Once the cap loosened up we pressed them into a mix of old and large-format oak in an attempt to retain the interesting aromatics of the wine.

This is our first Cabernet wine and we are excited to continue to explore the Grampians through a Cabernet lens into the future.