Clare Hills Clare Valley Cabernet Merlot 2017 By Neil Pike

The 2017 vintage was shaped by a cool winter with average rainfall followed by a dry, warm spring and quite a hot December. Budburst was earlier than normal due to the warmer conditions in September and consequently harvest was also very early – we commenced vintage on Feb 9th. Thankfully January and February were quite mild with below average maximum and minimum temperatures experienced for both months. Around 30mm of rain received on 29th January went a long way towards shaping the vintage also. It has probably turned a potentially ordinary vintage into something potentially quite special.

The grapes for this wine were machine harvested, transported to the winery, de-stemmed into open fermenters and cold soaked for three days before fermentation began. The wine was pumped over twice daily during ferment for approx 7 days and this was followed by draining, pressing and then maturation in French oak casks for 14 months before racking and blending. The wine was stabilised and lightly filtered prior to bottling.   

Cabernet 60% Merlot 40%

Niche Merlot 2018

The fruit was sourced from premium vineyards located in South Australia. We picked in the cool of night when the fruit had reached its optimum ripeness then fermented on skins in static potters and rotary fermenters for a period of seven days to retain as much of the luscious natural fruit flavour as possible. Warm temperatures at the early stages of fermentation along with ta short period of post ferment maceration helped develop soft fleshy fruit and tannins while helping build structure. Following the pressing process, clarification and final blending the fruit was matured with select parcels having contact with old French oak. 

Southern Lights Marlborough Merlot 2016

Southern Lights Merlot is sourced from an established vineyard in Marlborough’s Southern Valley region.