Plantagenet Aquitaine Mount Barker Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
Plantagenet Aquitaine Mount Barker Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Great Southern, Western Australia
Vintage: 2020
Bottle size: 75cl
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
ABV: 14%
Deep ruby in colour, this wine opens with intense aromas of blackberry, cassis and olive with subtle nuances of cedar and tobacco. These notes continue on to the palate where they are complemented by fine, supple oak tannins. A full-bodied wine with great structure and a firm lingering finish of cassis and tapenade.
The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for this wine are sourced from two small blocks in Wyjup, some 40km south-west of Mount Barker. Established in 1971, the vineyards are planted on north and north-west facing aspects at an elevation of 200 metres, on deep gravel loam to light loam over quartz soils. The vines are hand pruned, shoot and crop thinned and leaf exposed.
Separate parcels of machine harvested fruit were destemmed into both open and closed top fermenters without any chilling. Inoculation happened with a cultured yeast strain, with hand plunging and twice daily pump overs conducted during fermentation in order to carefully manage phenolic extraction. The finished wine was left in contact with the skins for a further period in order to increase complexity and weight. The wine was then pressed to tank and racked to French barriques, 30% of which were new, for malolactic fermentation before maturing for 17 months prior to blending, filtration and bottling.
Located in the Mount Barker township (part of the Shire of Plantagenet), Plantagenet was the first winery in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The name Plantagenet carries a rich heritage. The royal House of Plantagenet ruled England from 1154 to 1485, and centuries later, early English settlers brought the name to the Great Southern, naming the rural shire surrounding Mount Barker after the royal line. The arms of the Plantagenet dynasty were three lions passant guardant, termed colloquially “the arms of England”.