Cabernet Merlot
One the original varieties
that we chose to plant in 1997 was Cabernet Sauvignon. This
variety had produced many knock-out wines for other growers
in Broke, most notably for Bill Ryan at Broke Estate in the
early to mid 1990s.
However, the site we
selected at Mount Broke is fairly close to the brook and
prone to frost over winter. This in itself isn't a problem,
but the effect of frosty winters it to slow down the
bud-burst so that the vines on the river-flats come into
season a couple of weeks later than those on the higher
Harrowby block. Again, not a real problem for some varieties
and in some seasons, but it can be a problem with Cabernet
Sauvignon if the season isn't hot and dry. If this happens
the resulting wine tastes very vegetative and not at all
appealing.
An acre of Merlot is planted next to
the Cabernet, and although not as badly affected, this is
also a problem in cool and wet seasons. For this reason the Cabernet
Sauvignon has now been grafted to Tempranillo, a Spanish
variety that seems to handle the weather better and starts
to ripen up earlier.
Another of the major limitations with Hunter
Cabernet is that it tends to not show any great degree of character
while it is still young, with the wines generally needing six years or
more to get the best out of them. However, once Cabernet has had long
enough to come good, it makes a silky smooth red wine that is very
food-friendly.
Our first wine was a
non-vintage blend of 1998 & 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon
& Merlot and we released this as a Non-Vintage blend.
Still drinking quite well in 2010, it has taken on the
characters of a mature French Bordeaux.
2002 Cabernet Merlot was the next
one, and a wine that won us lots of friends as the wine slowly matured
to become a Hunter classic.
However, the 2003 vintage
was to be the last as we had this constant battle to get
enough of the fruit ripe enough. When it was young the
Merlot component dominated but this soon faded ad Merlot
tends to do. The wine is now at its peak, seven years
old and with plenty of life left. The Merlot character is not as
obvious on the palate now but is still evedent on the nose.
Food Match:
Chicken Cacciatore and Cab Merlot - difficult to go past.
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