2008 D'Arenberg High Trellis Cabernet

Winemaker's Notes
"The nose is full of blackcurrant and blueberry characters with a lovely mint leaf lift and a spicy undertone. The characters are ripe, yet remain balanced with touches of florals adding elegance. Dark plum and red fruits are added to the mix before a savory mid palate emerges with earthy characters, hints of coffee, black olive and more spice framed well by fine gravelly tannins and just a hint of oak. Considering the challenging vintage conditions, the generous fruit flavor is surprisingly well balanced by earth notes, flowers and leafy lift along with good tannin structure."

James Halliday
"93 pts ... Good colour; over the years, has often outperformed both its region and price point, and this is no exception; cassis and blackcurrant fruit drives through the medium-bodied palate to a long finish."

Technical Notes
"Small batches are crushed in the Demoisy open-mouthed, rubber toothed crusher and then transferred to open fermenters. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation. When tannin extraction is just right the wine is basket pressed and transferred to a mixture of older French and old American oak barriques to complete fermentations. The barrel fermented component is aged on lees for 12 months to keep the wine fresh while also reducing the oak influence. 14.5% alc."