Mount Horrocks Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Clare Valley South Australia

Mount Horrocks Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from the Polish Hill River sub-region of the Clare Valley  in Southern Australia is made by proprietor/Winemaker Stephanie Toole and she was at the tasting - vibrant lady who maintains the quality of the wines by restricting the output / yield. Her aim is for the wine to speak for itself and tell its own story about the terroir. Stephanie describes her wines as ‘essentially hand made food wines with an emphasis on structure as well as generous fruit flavours’.
All the grapes are 100% estate grown from three separate vineyard sites that have been managed using sustainable natural farming and organic practices totalling nearly 10 hectares in the Clare Valley. The grapes are hand-picked and then fermented in stainless steel fermenters, pumped over five times a day followed by gentle pressing then the wine was matured in barriques for 18 months, of which 35% was new French oak.
Ruby and a hint of garnet at the rim are the colours to describe this wine, the big aromas redolent of blackberries, olive oil and cedar box smokiness, the flavours follow accordingly with additional savoury ripe tannins of a slightly drying nature, and the wine had a silky sumptous texture. Very persistent finish with a warm end, juicy all the way through. This is a stylish elegant Cabernet Sauvignon which has a typical New World character - enrobing and luxurious.
Available from Aitken Wines at a cost of £23 .
Score : 90

The Clare Valley

The Clare Valley is less than a two-hour drive from Adelaide and is considered one of the most picturesque wine regions in South Australia. James Halliday ( Wine Companion ) described the Clare Valley as one of Australia’s most beautiful wine-producing regions where Hills fold in on themselves, streamlets meander and lines of gumtrees are forever twisting through pockets of vineyards and around old stone houses. Sounds stunning!

Situated in the northern Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia’s Clare Valley was settled in the late 1830s, with the first vineyards planted and wines produced in the early 1840s. The same features that make the Clare Valley inherently beautiful are also the foundation of Clare’s famed vineyards. The climate features a warm to hot summer where cool afternoon breezes are the key and play a major role in slowing down the ripening process, but cooling afternoon breezes play a major role in slowing down the ripening process. altitude and position within the Valley, as well as aspect, lead to considerable variations in individual site climate. The climate is moderately Continental, with cool to cold nights and warm to hot summer days. The rainfall is winter-spring dominant, while relatively low humidity (and summer rainfall) means a low incidence of fungal disease. Hence some of Australia's finest Riesling is grown in the Clare Valley, and the region also produces many other wine styles, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.