WillowBend is where it all started for us. Back in 1990 Ken and I put our first red blend of Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet together and packaged it under what was then the WillowBend brand. Since then our brand has changed to Dutschke, but WillowBend has continued on as our blended red.
The idea has always been to produce a consistently full and flavoursome wine by blending the varieties that perform best in our vineyard. We've done very little differently in putting this blend together since our first, way back in 1990. Produced from Shiraz planted in 1975, Merlot vines planted in 1980, and Cabernet Sauvignon in 1978, the vines grow on our "St. Jakobi" family vineyard, the property purchased by my grandfather Oscar Semmler in the 1930s.
The Shiraz (38%), and Merlot (33%) provide the ripe sweet fruit palate while the Cabernet Sauvignon (29%) gives structure and tannin support.
After years in the bottle the older "WillowBend" blends have also shown great complex characters while still maintaining their fresh fruit flavours. WillowBend is typically a very good wine to drink now, but will also benefit further by lying it down for a few years to complex with extra bottle aging.
We trust you'll enjoy it!
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