Clare Hills Clare Valley Cabernet Merlot 2018 By Pikes Dozen
Clare Valley Cabernet Merlot From Clare Winemaking Family "Pikes Wines"
Why to buy
- Made By Legendary Clare Hills Winemaking Family
- Previous Vintage Highly Rated Cabernet Merlot Blend James Halliday
- 5 Red Star James Halliday Rated Winery
- Multiple Trophy & Gold Medal Winning Producer
Tasting Notes
Medium to deep red colour with enticing aromas of cassis, black cherries, tobacco initially followed by hints of cedary oak and mint. The medium bodied palate is rich and quite supple with good concentration of dark fruit mentioned above plus little of the cedar. Perfect with a salumi plate and some pecorino cheese. The 2017 vintage was shaped by a cool winter with average rainfall followed by a dry, warm spring and quite a hot December. Budburst was earlier than normal due to the warmer conditions in September and consequently harvest was also very early – we commenced vintage on Feb 9th. Thankfully January and February were quite mild with below average maximum and minimum temperatures experienced for both months. Around 30mm of rain received on 29th January went a long way towards shaping the vintage also. It has probably turned a potentially ordinary vintage into something potentially quite special.
The grapes for this wine were machine harvested, transported to the winery, de-stemmed into open fermenters and cold soaked for three days before fermentation began. The wine was pumped over twice daily during ferment for approx 7 days and this was followed by draining, pressing and then maturation in French oak casks for 14 months before racking and blending. The wine was stabilised and lightly filtered prior to bottling.
Cabernet 60% Merlot 40%
This Product is offered and supplied by GWD Operations Pty Ltd, Liquor Licence No. 36065595. Please note, this product cannot be delivered to Dry Zones. GWD Operations supports the Responsible Service of Alcohol. Warning - Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is an offence to supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years (penalty exceeds $17,000), for a person under the age of 18 years to purchase or receive liquor (penalty exceeds $700).