Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.5% | PH: 3.8 | Titratable Acidity: 5.15 g/L
Bottling Date: July 9th 2014
Cellaring: 5+ years
Tasting Notes:
A potpourri of rich and exotic spices mixed in with a lovely fruit bouquet with aromas of blueberry, crushed raspberry and brambleberry mixed with notes of vanilla, earth and black olive. The palate is dry with fresh acidity balancing the rich fruit and body of the wine while the rounded tannins lend structure. Flavours of red currant, blueberry and crushed raspberry fill the mouth with hints of Dutch black liquorice, tobacco and allspice adding complexity to the long length.
Further ageing will allow the acidity to soften and the spices to mesh further. An excellent complement to a tomato based meat dish such as Osso Bucco or try with braised lamb shanks drizzled with a black olive wine sauce.
Wine Making:
2012 grapes benefited from one of the best growing years with exceptional weather offering warm and steady temperatures leading to great flavours, sugars, acids and pH.
The grapes for the 2012 Cabernet Franc were hand-picked the last week of October from different parcels of Burrowing Owl Vineyards in Oliver and Osoyoos.
Grapes from each parcel were treated separately. The fruit was hand-sorted, gently destemmed and crushed then dropped into stainless steel tanks. It was cold soaked for 5 days before primary fermentation started spontaneously. At completion, the wine was left on the skins for another 5 days to stabilize colour and enhance structure. It received 22 months of oak with periodic rackings. Towards the end of ageing,the different batches were blended and prepared for bottling.
