A hallmark of the Utopos Vineyard on Roennfeldt Road is the pitch perfect acid/ tannin balance we can achieve in fully ripened fruit. This provides for delicious, highly approachable wines in their youth, whilst enabling them to develop over a 10-15 year period, and maybe more. The 2021 vintage was almost impossibly perfect, and has produced a series of red wines that will continue to showcase the amazing potential of this site for many years to come. Mild weather from bud burst in late September to harvest across March and April provided ideal conditions for steady, even canopy development, fruit set and ripening. The rain cycle through spring, summer and autumn was perfectly timed, providing regular refreshment to the vines, and maintaining a modest amount of sub soil moisture.
There are two primary Cabernet Sauvignon blocks on the Utopos Vineyard, one easterly facing and the other northerly. Both blocks are planted in depleted ironstone dappled soil that naturally restricts yields to a maximum of 1.5 tonnes per acre (in a good year). The eastern facing vineyard, exposed predominantly to the cooler morning sun, produces fruit that delivers classic Barossa Valley Cabernet varietal characters of red peppercorn, eucalypt and red fruits. The northerly block is more exposed to the warmer, afternoon sun, bringing more blackcurrant and chocolate aroma and flavour characters to the wine. On the nose, you enjoy the best of both vineyard blocks with highlights of peppercorn, red fruits and eucalypt competing for attention alongside a good lick of dark fruit and chocolate. The palate displays plenty of bright, sweet red/ black fresh fruit characters embraced by very fine long tannins. The fresh acidity that defines all wines from the Utopos Vineyard makes this a lip smackingly good red wine drink.
Harvested on March 16, 2021. A short cold soak followed by a cool 10 day ferment and then into a 2500L foudre and a few new, second and 3rd use very tight grained french barriques for almost 18 months maturation.
The age worthiness of great Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is well proven, and whilst a delicious and enjoyable wine in its youth, you can expect this wine to start to stride out from 10 years old and continue to kick on for at least another decade…or more!
