Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml

This is Xanadu's most awarded wine with a previous vintage taking out the coveted Jimmy Watson Trophy. The team at Hairydog are all about bringing Cabernet back and can't think of a better region in Margaret River, or a better producer than Xanadu.

Aromas of dark fruits of the forest, black plums and cassis with hints of dried herbs, cinnamon and spice.

Full-bodied yet refined, the plush palate offers a core of inky berry fruits; blackcurrants, Satsuma plums and graphite, all framed by subtle cedar/spicy oak characters. This dense wine is well structured, with a taut acid backbone layered with dark fleshy fruit characteristics, ripe tannins and a lingering fruit finish.

Approximately one third of the fruit is Estate grown in the Wallcliffe subregion, while the remaining two thirds consists of fruit from mature vineyards in the more northern Margaret River subregions of Wilyabrup, Treeton and Yallingup.

Fruit was crushed/destemmed before predominantly small batch fermentation in a combination of static and open fermenters (20% of the components were cold macerated for 3-4 days). Fermentation takes 7-8 days at 24 – 26°C, during which the cap is managed using a combination of aerative pumping over as well as regular plunging by hand. After fermentation 40% of the components experienced a period of extended maceration on skins before a very gentle pressing.

The wine was matured for 14 months in French oak (40% new barriques) before the blend was assembled, and returned to older French barriques for a further 2 months maturation prior to bottling.

Vibrant and robust in its youth, this is a wine which will certainly benefit from further bottle maturation and will cellar comfortably for 5-10 years.