A Rodda Tete de Cuvee Cabernets 2018

Sourced from the Smith’s Vineyard in Beechworth, fruit was selected from the top 10 rows of the North-East facing Cabernet Sauvignon block and the small, low yielding Merlot block. In the best growing seasons, the resulting blend is elevated to the Tête de Cuvée release. Hand picked fruit was destemmed and crushed prior to fermentation whereby a combination of pump-overs, rack and returns and plunging was utilized for cap management. Post-fermentation, the Cabernet Sauvignon was held on skins for a further 18 days. The wines were pressed to French oak barriques consisting of 50% first use and 50% second use. After 12 months, the wines were racked to old 600 litre thick stave oak casks for a further 8 months prior to bottling. The 2018 Tête de Cuvée consists of Cabernet Sauvignon (74%), Merlot (24%) and Petit Verdot (2%). - Producer's Notes

Tête de Cuvée has been produced as the brother/sister wine of the Triangle Block Chardonnay. It’s reminiscent of very good Bordeaux, rather than typical of Australian Cabernet blends. Medium bodied, refined and chiselled with only a gentle, slow release of sweet fruit that sits behind a slightly austere and gravely mid-palate. It shows plum and cassis, but only in restrained volumes, yet I see the wine softening and opening-up with time in the cellar. While very good now, try to tuck some away for a few more years and watch it reach its full potential. – Ches Cook, FWC.