Yallingup is our stomping ground and where the world’s greatest Cabernet and Cabernet blends are being grown! It’s deliciously warm but never hot, with the amazing dual influence of the Indian Ocean and Geographe Bay. For this year’s Cabernets we have used our own beloved Sheoak Cabernet and added some of our neighbour’s Merlot from the Simpson property, with which we’re lucky enough to share the amazing valley. The new and final player is a slinky little parcel of Malbec from Deep Woods just over the hill, to really make this wine pop.
The 2019 vintage in Margaret River and for Cabernet fit perfectly with this year’s theme: It was, like all the wines, cool. But in God’s own country of the Yallingup Hills, that presented no problem as we had a lovely April just getting the right amount of concentration into the fruit while retaining elegance and natural charm.
We started picking on 13th April and from the moment the fruit hit the fermenter the elegance and understated charm of these wines was evident. Instantly perfumed and richly coloured, the wine spent 12 days on skins with a peak fermentation temperature of around 26˚C. The wine was pressed to tank and settled briefly, before being transferred to a combination of new (25%) and two- and three-year-old barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. It was racked only once in this time and, after 14 months in oak, was emptied from barrel. At this juncture we decided on the final make-up: 53% Cabernet Sauvignon; 35 % Merlot; and 12% Malbec. These wines were then settled together, clarified and bottled.
Cabernet is king and long will it reign in our eyes. If this modern blend doesn’t resonate hugely with you, then we have little faith in your imagination. It’s expressive, medium-bodied and approachable. A cassis-laced dream, if you will. – Alana & Julian Langworthy