The grapes to produce the Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc “Gaia” Clare Valley Grosset were hand picked, crushed and destemmed into tank at a cool temperature to undergo a cold soak. Fermentation and malolactic fermentation took place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine was then racked to oak, of which 40% was new and the remaining between one and two years old, for an 18 month maturation period. Bottling followed without fining or filtering and the wine was aged for a further year in bottle before release.
Planted at an elevation of 570 meters, the Gaia vineyard is the highest vineyard in the Clare Valley. Consisting of two hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, this strikingly beautiful site is extremely challenging and requires careful management. Hard red rock predominates, and the rocky outcrops that break through the earth prevent inter-row cropping and weed control through tillage. Instead, seed is broadcast by hand and grasses and clovers encouraged to regenerate.
For almost four decades, the Grosset ‘Springvale’ and ‘Polish Hill’ Rieslings have shown a consistency of style and quality that has made this one of Australia’s greatest wineries. The ‘hard rock’ blue slate of the Polish Hill site results in wines that are steely and magnificently ageworthy, while the red loam of the Springvale vineyard gives more open and easily accessible – though no less complex – wines. Such is Jeffrey Grosset’s attention to detail that he noted a small strip (22 metres wide by 300 metres long) in his Rockwood vineyard that produced more generously flavoured wines due to a different soil. Jeffrey is fanatical about the quality of his vineyards, which are certified organic and are hand tended, with a focus on sustainability to offset climate change. In the winery, each process is gentle and uncomplicated. No fining agents are used and sulphur is the only addition. By combining a disciplined approach and decades of experience, Grosset consistently achieves the purest expression of variety and place.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.