2018 Sandalford Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
This is classic Margaret River Cabernet - vibrant, sweet, dark berry fruits and oak flavours of cinnamon, chocolate box and cedar. The tannins are silky soft, sweet and plush, and in balance with the acidity. A wine with wonderful structure and length. This wine will reward careful cellaring over the next ten to twenty years if you can wait for that long.
Winemaker comments
Winemaker Notes
The grapes for this wine are exclusively from our 40+ year old Wilyabrup Estate Vineyard in Margaret River. After crushing and de-stemming the must was inoculated with a selected yeast isolate for fermentation in small static fermenters. The traditional method of pumping over was used during this time to optimise colour, flavour and tannin extraction. At the completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed to tank and inoculated for Malolactic Fermentation (MLF). At the completion of MLF, the wine was racked and transferred to French oak barrels (25% new) for 13 months maturation. The wine was then blended, with the inclusion of 2% Malbec, before filtration and bottling.
Meet the maker
By the time I turned 18, I had become fascinated with wine. I was keen to learn as much about wine as I could and I received some great advice: to work in the industry before committing to any tertiary study....
Continue Reading > I was lucky enough to get my start at the cellars at Houghton Wines, here in the Swan Valley. I loved it, and it was the beginning of a career which was to eventually see me spend 20 years with Houghton’s. But first, I wanted to discover what traditional winemaking was like in the northern hemisphere. I took myself off to Burgundy, France, where I worked several vintages learning as much as I could about the craft of winemaking from some the best in the business. Returning to Australia I continued my career, picking up a few awards in the process of learning more and more about winemaking and achieving Bachelor of Applied Science and Oenology at Charles Sturt University, NSW. I was awarded the inaugural Gourmet Traveler Young Winemaker of the Year 2001, James Halliday’s Winemaker of the year in 2009, Winemaker of the Year in Ray Jordan's 2017 Annual West Australian Wine Guide, and I’ve judged extensively at capital city and regional wine shows. Australia makes some amazing world class wines! I’ve been fortunate to be Senior Winemaker at Sandalford Wines since March 2021 and I’m delighted every day by our estates’ old vines, the passion of the viticulture team here, and the outcomes we are able to achieve each vintage.
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Continue Reading > I was lucky enough to get my start at the cellars at Houghton Wines, here in the Swan Valley. I loved it, and it was the beginning of a career which was to eventually see me spend 20 years with Houghton’s. But first, I wanted to discover what traditional winemaking was like in the northern hemisphere. I took myself off to Burgundy, France, where I worked several vintages learning as much as I could about the craft of winemaking from some the best in the business. Returning to Australia I continued my career, picking up a few awards in the process of learning more and more about winemaking and achieving Bachelor of Applied Science and Oenology at Charles Sturt University, NSW. I was awarded the inaugural Gourmet Traveler Young Winemaker of the Year 2001, James Halliday’s Winemaker of the year in 2009, Winemaker of the Year in Ray Jordan's 2017 Annual West Australian Wine Guide, and I’ve judged extensively at capital city and regional wine shows. Australia makes some amazing world class wines! I’ve been fortunate to be Senior Winemaker at Sandalford Wines since March 2021 and I’m delighted every day by our estates’ old vines, the passion of the viticulture team here, and the outcomes we are able to achieve each vintage.
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Tasting notes
Varietals
Varietal
Cabernet Sauvignon
Colour
Other Notes
Dark garnet red.
Nose
Production
Bramble fruits, blackcurrant and mulberry with an attractive violet floral note. Bay leaf, wild mint and subtle vanillin oak completes the picture.
Palate
Tasting Note
This is classic Margaret River Cabernet - vibrant, sweet, dark berry fruits and oak flavours of cinnamon, chocolate box and cedar. The tannins are silky soft, sweet and plush, and in balance with the acidity. A wine with wonderful structure and length. This wine will reward careful cellaring over the next ten to twenty years if you can wait for that long.
Vintage Conditions
Vineyard Notes
The 2018 vintage was a return to the fantastic growing conditions that Margaret River is renowned for. The wet winter preceding the growing season provided ample soil moisture for the healthy vines to ripen over the summer months. An extended dry and warm period through to the end of picking in mid-April presented ideal conditions for the ripening of fruit. All fruit this season is of exceptional quality and showing great varietal characteristics.
2018 will be long regarded as one of the great vintages of the decade for Margaret River.
