Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon 2015/17

Bouquet

Ripe cassis and blackberry fruit nose integrated with red cedar, nutmeg and cinnamon through maturation in predominantly French oak. The wine proudly shows its Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon pedigree.

Palate

This is a beautifully textured wine with succulent persistence, fine tannins and balanced acidity. The rich flavour reflects the early-ripening vintage yet retains the elegance expected of Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.

Food Suggestions

This wine will best match full flavoured meals, such as tender beef, rich risotto or full flavoured game.

Cellaring Potential

Excellent on release and will age over the next 10-15 years. Expect the cedar and cigar box characters to develop with time.

Winemaking Notes

Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon has been the flagship of Leconfield since the first release in 1977. Our philosophy is to produce a Cabernet Sauvignon displaying both depth and elegance where oak complexes and enhances the fruit but is not allowed to dominate. Several components that comprise this wine completed fermentation in French oak while the balance had extra time on skins before pressing and oak maturation. 2016 had an early commencement of the Cabernet harvest, (4th of March),  with yields ranging from 9-10 tonnes/ha. Oak maturation was in a blend of new and used hogsheads with several workings to soften the tannins and fill-out the flavour. The wine received one filtration before bottling on the 11th October, 2017. We believe that this 2016 vintage will offer excellent cellaring opportunities over the next decade and beyond.

Vintage Conditions

For the second consecutive year, the 2015-2016 growing season was much drier than average with our vineyards receiving only 40% of the average annual rainfall from August to March. Despite that, excellent fruit set provided a more fruitful crop compared with recent years. February’s maximum temperature was about average, but all other months from October to March had warmer maximum and minimum temperatures, leading to earlier flowering, veraison and ripening. Our white varieties were picked in February to take advantage of lovely natural acidity. The red harvest was the earliest that we can remember and the small berry size of the grapes produced full, rich styles with deep red colours and ripe tannin structure. 2016 is again an outstanding year in Coonawarra across all varieties.

Pack size: 6