Fraser Gallop Estate 2008 Cabernet Merlot

The 2008 Fraser Gallop Estate Cabernet Merlot follows on from the highly sort after inaugural 2007 which, in its short wine show run won two gold medals in consecutive national wine shows and was a Jimmy Watson Trophy finalist at the 2008 Royal Melbourne Wine Show. The 2008 vintage was slightly cooler with flavour ripeness in the more elegant vein, with savoury flavours complementing red berry fruits in its profile. The blending of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot has been proven in Margaret River’s short history and elsewhere, such as Bordeaux where the blend originated. The varieties work so well because structural tannins of Cabernet are tamed by the inherent mid-palate richness and softness of the Merlot grape.

Winemaker's Notes

Vintage 2008
The 2008 season was another great year with a wet winter in 2007 laying down the foundations of ample moisture in the clay sub-soils that bode well for the dry 2008 growing season. The hail storm that passed over our vineyard in spring devastated the Chardonnay, Merlot and Petit Verdot but missed the Cabernet. This had an obvious affect on the yields but one positive out of this was the increased quality. Picking times for the 2008 vintage were as normal as you get, not early, not late and we achieved full ripeness and plush berry fruit flavours without any mintiness or any disease pressure. It was a warm season without any major heat spikes, confirming Margaret River region as one of the most consistent premium grape growing regions in Australia.

Viticultural Notes
The Fraser Gallop Estate vineyard constantly produces first class fruit, 2008 was no exception. Both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are sourced off unirrigated blocks resulting in concentrated fruit, and the vines are cane pruned to ensure crop levels are low and the fruit is of the highest quality. Throughout the growing season two passes with the vine trimmer were required to ensure maximum fruit exposure. Just after berry set the vines were leaf plucked to open the canopy and ensure good fruit exposure, this aids in flavour development and tannin ripeness, minimising any green characters.

Winemaking Notes
The hand-picked fruit was de-stemmed with minimal crushing to keep berries whole and then chilled to 8°C for three days cold soak in closed fermenters (designed with a one-to-one ratio of height and length, great for colour and flavour extraction). The wine was pumped over daily using a turbopiguer which is able to pump whole grapes at up to 70, 000 litres per hour allowing better homogenisation and extraction without damaging the berries. During fermentation wine was tasted daily to monitor the tannin extraction and was on skins for 10 - 14 days before being pressed off-skins, this was the point at which the best balance of fruit and tannin was achieved. The wine was then transferred to barrel for malolactic fermentation, the barrels were all French barriques from a number of Bordeaux cooperages. The wine was racked twice during the following 10 months in barrel to aid in maturation and development.

Colour

A youthful deep raspberry red colour with vibrant crimson hues, this wine has an appealing colour and sparkle in the glass.

Nose

The nose is quite fragrant, a pot pouri of rosewater, blackcurrant, brambles and dusty berry fruits.

Palate

The palate reveals juicy layers of blackberry, blackcurrant and mulberry wrapped around a core of cedary perfumed French oak. It is fresh with brightness of acidity balanced by fine chewy tannins quite cranberry like. Although this wine is eminently drinkable now it will continue to improve with short term cellaring. A great wine to match with lamb, beef and gamey dishes.