2022 Optume Cabernet Sauvignon [Pre-Release]

Five parcels were hand-picked over a 23 day span drawn from five blocks allowing for ideal ripening across three specifically selected Yarra Valley vineyards. All fruit was hand-sorted, de-stemmed, crushed and tipped direct to small open oak & concrete vats. Stalks were added back to a single vat for additional aroma, complexity and sweep of tannin on the finish. Natural yeast undertook the first one-third of the fermentation prior to inoculation with a varietally suited and enhancing yeast. Vats were hand-plunged once per day to facilitate very gentle extraction of colour and integration of tannin. Fermentation temperature reached a maximum of 30°C. Cuvaison length ranged from two to four weeks on skins. Vats were pressed and filled off to a combination of predominantly seasoned premium French barriques. All components were matured as singular batches prior to blending pre-bottling.

The 2022 vintage provided ideal conditions to pursue the second instalment of our Optume Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes were sourced from select premium sites located across the Yarra Valley with the express intention of creating a cool-climate, single-varietal, classic ‘claret’ style of Cabernet Sauvignon of exceptional regional character and typicity, reminiscent of the pioneering wines that forged the Yarra Valley’s enviable reputation. This assemblage of sites combines their intrinsic strengths and expressions to deliver the optimum, a complete and superlative wine, greater than the sum of its parts. 

The wine features brooding restrained fruit characters of cassis, bramble, blackberry leaf, sumac, tarragon and dark chocolate with complexing savoury elements of bergamot, bay leaf, sandalwood and leather. Suppleness on the palate combines with flavours of cranberry, smoked paprika, cocoa nib, hazelnut and cassia. The silky texture and juicy flavours intertwine on the poised youthful palate, rewarding repeat visits as the regal tannin layers accumulate on the finish with immense length and persistence. This wine is suitable for vegans. Decanting as a young wine is highly recommended.