Blend: 57% Syrah & 43% Cabernet Sauvignon
Analysis:
Alcohol: 13.5 % | PH: 3.83 | Titratable acidity: 6.0 g/L
Bottling Date: August 2019
Cellaring: 5+ years
Tasting Notes:
An intense wine launching with a nose of toasty oak, vanilla and dark chocolate with ripe blackberry, black cherry and damson plum fruit alongside subtle sweet clove spice, potpourri, mint, cedar, fig, dried black olive and pie crust. The full-bodied palate shows ripe tannins and lots of intense flavours of brambly berry, cassis, dried raspberry, black plum, toasty oak, Nutella and a touch of leather on the long finish. Pair this with braised lamb shanks or rabbit cooked in star anise infused red wine.
Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
The 2017 growing season got off to a cool, slow start but the vines quickly caught up for lost time in the summer months. The warm temperatures through August and September combined while the cool nights of late summer and early fall produced bold fruit flavors and retained acidity. Nice warm days in October helped to push the fruit to full ripeness prior to harvest.
The Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were harvested by hand from Burrowing Owl Vineyard on Black Sage Bench in late October. They were de-stemmed and gently crushed before being fed by gravity flow into the same tank where they were allowed to cold soak for slow, soft extraction of flavor and colour. The co-fermentation process helps to marry the flavours and creates a unique harmony to the blend. After completion, the wine was pressed off and moved into barrels to allow for malolactic fermentation to occur. Afterwards, it was aged for 18 months in a selection of barrels that helped integrate the components and smooth the tannins while adding complex savoury notes. The 2017 Athene was bottled unfiltered and allowed to further age before its release.
