The Mill Cabernet Merlot

Growing Season
The Cabernet fruit in this wine is sourced from the oldest vines on the estate. The vines are hand pruned in winter to ensure a balanced canopy is achieved, allowing sunlight into the canopy. Vines are thinned during the growing season with a bunch thinning occurring at verasion. The Cabernet was picked ripe at 14 Bé on April 3rd. The Merlot portion is also sourced from old vines trained to a Scott Henry Trellis System. Restricted irrigation led to yield of 2.5t acre. The Merlot fruit was harvested on March 18th.

Winemaking
The Cabernet and Merlot portions are both made separately until final blending which took place in February. The final blend contained 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot. Both the Cabernet and Merlot were fermented in small open fermenters following crushing with the rollers open. The ferment was seeded with Bordeaux red yeast and maintained at 25 - 30ºC. Following ferment the wine was transferred to 2, 3 and 4 year old French and American barriques. The wine was racked every two months before final blending and bottling.

Tasting Notes
The Mill Cabernet Merlot is an excellent example of the harmony these two varieties can achieve when blended. It shows concentrated berry and plum flavours, complemented by integrated vanillin oak complexity. Medium term cellaring will further enhance these characteristics. The Mill Cabernet Merlot is suited to a wide array of meats, tapas and Italian influenced food.