Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.5 % | PH: 3.84 | Titratable acidity: 5.81 g/L
Bottling Date: August 2020
Cellaring: 5+ years
Tasting Notes:
A deep coloured, intense and brooding Cabernet built for the long haul. The nose shows pure blackcurrant, damson plum and blackberry with complex notes of dried sage, violet, clove, burlap and some charred meat and vanilla. Firmly structured with plenty of acidity and ripe tannins, the concentrated youthful black fruit will age gracefully for a decade with the dried herbs, floral notes, licorice, pepper spice and graphite notes evolving along the way. Pair with braised lamb shanks with root vegetable mash, grilled vegetables or eggplant Parmigiana.
Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
2018 was a moderate growing season that started with an earlier budbreak and a warmer than average May. The season cooled during the summer months and rebounded with favourable September and October temperatures. The cooperative weather allowed us to retain acidity and provide quality fruit with increased crop levels. While the sun and heat create intense fruit flavours, the cool evenings preserve the natural acidity in the grapes keeping the wine fresh and lively.
Our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were harvested by hand from Burrowing Owl Estate Winery’s vineyards in Osoyoos and Oliver on November 1st, 7th and 8th. They were sorted by hand, then destemmed and gently crushed before being fed by gravity flow into stainless tanks for skin maceration and alcoholic fermentation to occur with temperatures ranging from 18 to 32°C. Both free run wine and pressed wine were then transferred into barrels for malolactic fermentation followed by ageing for 18 months. The selection of barrels helped round out the tannins, and contributed complex savoury, toasted and spicy notes to the wine. After the blending of the barrels, the wine was bottled unfiltered and left to mature in bottle until its release.
Ageing: 66% French, 24% Hungarian, 9% American, and 1% Russian with 43% new, 2% one-year, 44% two-year, and 11% three-year and older oak
