Even though the drought was broken, and we had better rainfall leading up to the harvest, the knock-on effect of the previous five years drought still affected us as the vines struggled to recover. Unfortunately, our crop was low again and both blocks were picked together and fitted into one tank for fermentation.
Due to the high skin to juice ratio, we got incredible colour within a few days of fermentation. We allowed the malolactic fermentation to finish while on skins which gave us extra post-fermentation maceration and a chance for the wine to pick up really fine tannins. We pressed and allowed the wine to finish malolactic fermentation in the tank before racking to barrel. After 2 years in barrel, we made up the final blend using a small amount of Mourvèdre and Cabernet Sauvignon from our own vineyards to fill out the mid-palate. 100% French Oak of which 11% was new.
Grapes were sourced from Luddite vineyard sites:
Young Block harvested on the 11th February 2020
Old Block harvested on the 11th February 2020
Analysis of fruit at harvest:
24.0° Balling, TA – 6.8 g/l, pH – 3.42
Tasting Notes as at 1st March 2023:
Appearance: Dark red in colour with purple hues which carries through to edge of glass.
Nose: All spice, Turkish delight and dark fruit.
Palate: Juicy fruit and spice on entry. Tell-tale Luddite dark fruit core in mid-palate. Plumpness balanced by fine tannins on finish. Aftertaste is long, dry and slightly salty.
Analysis of the wine:
Alcohol: 14.65% pH: 3.55 TA: 5.6 g/l RS: 2.4 g/l
6 000 bottles of this vintage were produced with 12 magnums.
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