Region: Adelaide Hills Grapes: Barbera First Glance: Dark Fruits, Minty, Fresh Acidity
The Wine: From the Ceravolo vineyard in Ashton. 400 metres above sea level, loamy clay with shale and a touch of limestone. A rather long ripening season in the year that was. Mild, sunny days slowly watching the acid dissipate as the tannins matured. Barbera can have severe acid lines so I was eager not to jump the gun on this one, nor be too plump and fruit forward. After 22 – 25 days maceration, it was then pressed to a range of larger oak vessels - some newer Slovenian oak. Matured in barrel and on lees for 12 months then a couple of months in stainless steel prior to bottle.
Blackberries and dark cherries dominate the nose and palate, with a bit of mint and fresh acidity coming through which seems to reflect the milder growing season. Whilst full up front with the darker fruit spectrum, the palate tails off into some fine grit tannins and slight dried herbal (sage/thyme) before training out to cherry stone like fresh acid and slight orange peel/amaro breathiness.
