Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

The Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced primarily from the 1975-planted Block 8. The vineyard, planted with the famed Houghton Selection clone, is meticulously managed to promote the development of high intensity fruit and fine classical grainy tannins. Today, a small percentage of Malbec is included in the blend, giving the wine an inky depth and density.

"This was a freak vintage in the hands of many winemakers in WA, capable of power, balance, ripeness and glory. The fruit flavours, while slinky and seductive, are not the major player here. And that is saying something. The key to the brilliance of this wine is the texture. The tannins. They are tightly woven, very fine and serve to support the fruit and the acid. This wine is built on a stable scaffold of tannin that both cushions the experience and defines it. What a wine."  Erin Larkin

"An outstanding vintage for Cabernet Sauvignon in Margaret River. A concentrated and dark nose displaying dense blackcurrants and dark cherries. Heightened floral notes of violets and bay leaf diligently combine with savoury spice notes of black cardamom, anise, clove and cumin. There is an evident undernote of graphite and flint, providing a very detailed nose. Intensity and density pairs with purity and elegance. Predominately a blackcurrant thread on the palate, there is so much offering in layers. Bold, rich and contoured primary fruits engage with bright, almost mineral acidity, contoured with olive tapenade, iodine and sage. The tannins are silky, finely polishing the shape and finish on the palate.

After individual berry sorting and cold soaking, fermentation took place in closed, static fermenters at temperatures between 26C-30C with extraction by pumping over each individual parcel three times daily. After malolactic fermentation entirely in barrels and 9 months of barrel maturation, separate parcels were blended for further maturation in French Bordelaise coopered barriques with seasonal rackings.  This wine spent 22 months in total in oak."  Leeuwin Estate