The preceding winter gave healthy rains, replenishing soil moisture levels which led into a milder spring with the lowest average degree days ever recorded (least heat seen for a growing season). Flowering in all varieties was delayed by 10 days compared to the 2016 season, with wonderful sunshine giving excellent set (fruitful flowers into berries) and thus great crop potential across all varieties. With a mild summer, punctuated by only a few hot days (over 30C), veraison (colouring and softening of berries) in early February came three weeks later than 2016 (mid January) and picking for the reds was quite late; 10th of April for Malbec, 21st April for the Trinders Merlot and 9th of May for the Petit Verdot.

The aromatics are dark and brooding; intense mulberry fruit, black plum and fresh violet are met with forest bramble, tobacco and hints of smoked ground spices. Finer nuances of mocha, roasted charred fig, wild anise and dark earth meld with dried herbal notes and hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.

The palate is tightly wound with mocha and dusty red berry fruit, anise and fresh wild floral elements which overlay a densely packed yet finely structured palate, with a myriad of spice and delicate herbal notes. This well balanced and seamless wine displays wonderful savoury notes of cedar and red earth fanning out to a supple and silky texture of long dark chocolate.

Deep dark, black cherry red with garnet edges.

We suggest matching it with a rich vegetarian minestrone with grated parmesan and garlic croutons. The richness of a bone-in rib eye with a peppercorn and mushroom sauce or a slow roasted venison fillet covered in Mexican mole sauce with baked beetroot elevates the smoked spice complexity in this wine.

The fruit comes from our Trinders and Crossroads vineyards with the malbec sourced from a premium grower partner in Wilyabrup. The typical soils of these vineyards are geologically ancient, free draining sandy loams with a high percentage of lateritic gravel. This blend came from three exceptional parcels that simply demanded to be kept separate, and be unified in our best blended expression of 2017.