VINEYARD
Fruit for this rosé was sourced primarily from the Great Southern of the south western region of Western Australia. Our Rocky Horror vineyard is the cornerstone for this particular wine, with Shiraz and Merlot growing on free draining ironstone gravel loam soils planted with a perfect northerly aspect and grown to exacting standards.
VINTAGE COMMENTS
A cold, wet spring delayed budburst, then shoot growth was slowed down considerably by continuing cool to mild weather all the way through into early summer which had us thinking another late vintage was on the cards. We saw a prolonged flowering period due to the cool weather with the consequence of some uneven ripening later on as well as a little bit of disease pressure. However the January and February temperatures were rather toasty and along with the dry conditions, ripening was considerably hastened. Moderate yields, also helped ripening. Merlot and Shiraz were harvested between the 27th March and 1st April with respective ripeness levels of 22.5 Brix and 23.5 Brix.
WINEMAKING
Our winemaking approach was geared around producing a rose of vibrant colour and hue with a fresh cherry/ raspberry nose. Merlot and Shiraz are the backbone for this wine providing the fresh fruit flavours and juicy palate texture. The must is crushed to tank before the first run juice is drained off slowly to be collected, then settled before racking and fermenting cool. After ferment the wine received a light fining before filtering and bottling in late October 2010.
TASTING NOTES
Cherry, strawberry and raspberry notes with an underlying minerality. A succulent rosé, with a refreshing mouthful of fruity flavours tasting like a bowl of freshly made summer pudding with a juicy lip-smacking finish like a mouth cleansing sorbet.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Alcohol 13.2 %v/v, Acidity 6.2 g/L, pH 3.2, Residual Sugar 3.5 g/L