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2009 Single Barrel Cabernet

Conditions during the 2009 Vintage turned out beautifully for the development of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown on the St Jakobi Vineyard. We had an initial burst of hot weather at the end of January into early February, but after that the weather was remarkably mild. The cooler conditions were just wonderful for the Cabernet flavours to develop.

The Cabernet vines planted in 1978 have been used over the last 20 years or so to blend with Shiraz and Merlot for our WillowBend blend. In the years where vineyard and weather conditions come together to produce Cabernet of stand out quality we bottle a 100% varietal Cabernet under our "Sami" label. 2009 was one of these years!

The "78 Block" Cabernet was harvested on the 10th of March and the fruit brought back to the Dutschke Shed to be crushed into one of our stainless steel fermenters. Wonderful flavour and tannin extraction during the 8-day fermentation suggested that we could keep pressings separate from the free run wine when pressing without compromising the free run wine. The wine was drained from skins and the skins were basket pressed to give one 300 Litre hogshead of Cabernet pressings. The 2009 "stand out" barrel was an easy choice for us as this Single Barrel of Cabernet Pressings was the only one we had. The barrel was a Mercurey Grand Cru French Oak Hogshead purchased new in 2009.

We have bottled the wine just as we found it, unblended, unfined and unfiltered.

At the time of bottling this wine showed a wonderful combination of generous mint and rich red berry fruit characters with an obvious backbone of spicy oak and grape tannins. I'm sure you will be able to enjoy this wine as a younger wine, but I recommend giving it time (at least 12 – 24 months) to soften and complex in the bottle. This wine will also comfortably age and develop for 8-10 years if a more mature wine is preferred. Then just decant and enjoy with good friends.

Scores

“Deep crimson, purple hue; full of sweet cassis fruit on the bouquet, almost pastille-like purity, and offset by cedary complexity from new oak; the palate reveals poised dark fruits, ample fine grained tannins and a very long and oaky finish; the price and the oak may be a sticking point, but this is sure to reward patient cellaring. - 95pts”

- James Halliday - Australian Wine Companion 2013

93pts

- Robert Parker The Wine Advocate 2012

“If ever we needed proof that cabernet of unbridled Barossa power is capable of flattering beyond words, it’s no surprise that this might emerge from the masterful genius of Wayne Dutschke. More than this, this Single Barrel is one of the finest wines to ever hail from the hallowed vines of St Jakobi. How such sheer, vibrant definition can be achieved at no less than 15.0% on the Richter scale is mind-boggling. A wine of such immense density, of profound, layered, mouthfilling cabernet pressing voluminousness and bracing tannin presence should not be capable of such precise, exact, articulate cabernet hallmarks of crunchy, primary red- and blackcurrants, red capsicum and even rose hip fragrance. The secret? Single Barrel. 400 bottles. And the tender loving care of the wizard himself. - 96pts”

- Tyson Stelzer - Wine Taste Weekly

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