Vintage Conditions
The 2015 to 2016 vintage season in Margaret River was generally warm and dry up to the third week in January 2016. The relatively dry winter combined with a warmer growing season corresponded to vines achieving good shoot lengths and making the transition from vegetative growth to fruiting growth a little earlier than normal; a great feature for fruit quality. Our dry growing season was quenched on 19th March, 2016 with 50 mm of rain, enough to wash the dust of the vine leaves, top up the dry soil profiles and carry the vines through to full ripeness. The resulting wines are fragrant with succulent natural acidities, lovely textures and intense aromatic lift.
Winemaking Note
The Cabernet Sauvignon portion of the blend is de-stemmed and crushed, so that each berry is just split. This is to ensure minimal berry degradation during the fermentation process. Our Merlot is crushed as to fully expose the delicate flesh and promote a more refined and elegant textural development. Our ferments are, by industry standards, cool and gentle, allowing slower, more controlled extraction of tannin and flavour. The wine is pumped over three times a day and then judiciously backed off as the wine develops.
This wine was on skins in the fermenter for 14 days, before gentle pressing and barrelling down. The result is clean, pure fruit flavours, boasting supple yet powerful tannin. The wine was aged in French oak for 10 months bottling.
Tasting Notes
A classic Margaret River blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. This wine has vibrant aromas of mulberries, vanilla pod, freshly ground coffee and violets. The palate is rich and luscious with mulberries continuing through, black currants and dark chocolate with an elegant finish of bold tannin and soft, glazed plum.
Accolades
GOLD - Margaret River Wine Show
94/100, Special Value star - James Halliday's 2019 Wine Companion
Cellaring
Up to 8 years, however we enjoy it for freshness now.
Clairault Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2017
Cape Clairault
The original Clairault Vineyards, with vines planted as early as 1976, have seen the implementation of biological sustainable farming practices. The robust health of the vineyard and quality of the fruit reflects these advanced methods.
With 40 hectares under vine, the vineyard sits 120 metres above sea level and is the starting point for 3 water catchments, the Gunyulgup, Quinninup and the Wilyabrup. The property, acknowledged as having one of the highest grades of biodiversity in the area, boasts a beautiful undulating landscape and plentiful natural bushland.
Varieties grown at Cape Clairault are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Chardonnay.
Ironstone Vineyard
The Ironstone Vineyard, set on 101 hectares on Caves Road, is one of the oldest vineyards in the Margaret River Wine Region in the sub-region of Wilyabrup with 26 hectares under vine. Its tightly spaced vines planted almost 5,000 to the hectare promote a healthy competition and intensely flavoured fruit. The brown loamy sands over gravelly clay soils at Ironstone are exceptionally well suited for premium viticulture use. Streicker Wines acquired Ironstone Vineyard in 2003 and implemented a rehabilitation plan that included building a dam to increase water capacity, removing part of a water-hungry pine tree plantation, constructing kangaroo fencing, and pruning and reworking the vines. The results are exciting. Now the vines are robust and healthy, and because the roots grew deeper when the water table was low, they now pass through a variety of soil types that add great subtleties to the rich flavours of this premium block. Varieties grown at Ironstone are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Chenin Blanc.