The Colonial Estate Exile Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Barossa Valley

Winemaker's Notes

Colour: Deep purple colour with crimson/violet edge.

Bouquet: The bouquet illustrates how both power and beauty can co-exist with varietal characters of rich vibrant blackcurrant fruit infused with mint, violets and olive. Wonderful density and depth to the aromatics, which reveal a soft inkiness and subtle hints of perfectly integrated French oak.

Palate: Fruit driven and intense varietal characters with purity being a resounding feature, in fact we believe this is a best vintage Exile Cabernet Sauvignon we have ever produced continuing on a string of good vintages in the Barossa for Cabernet Sauvignon in particular. Blackcurrants, plum and a hint of violets, which shows a serious wine with complexity and elegance. The solid foundation is built around this pure fruit core while the oak is well integrated and compliments but doesn’t dominate which is the key to showing the varietal and elegant characters possible in such high quality Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Well-rounded smooth tannins, with cassis, currants and mulberries providing a finish, which goes on and on.

Cellaring Potential: Drinking well now and for up to a decade, will develop more over time thanks to the oak, fruit and tannins which it carries so well currently.

Winemaking Details: Sourced from a single vineyard high in the Seppeltsfield sub region of the Western Barossa. The vines that make up Exile were pruned severely and as a result of this and minimal water they produce extremely small yields under 2 tonne per acre. Exile grapes are all hand selected in individual batches by winemaker and vigneron. The grapes are harvested then transported to the winery where they are de-stemmed and crushed individually to small static fermenters. Fermentation was brought on by the use of select yeast strains and the temperatures peaked at 28 degrees before chilling back to 20 degrees for the completion of fermentation. The fermenters were pumped over 3 times daily to ensure the perfect amount of colour and tannin was extracted from the skins.

A small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon was allowed to stay on skins for a week of additional maceration after the ferments were complete. The batches were then pressed into new French barrels where they under went malolatic fermentation and are then aged for 18 months before final barrel selection, blending and bottled with minimal filtration.