Tech stuff

How's it taste?

Deep ruby garnet with a purple hue. A rich perfume with blackcurrant, blueberry and coffee mocha complexities. Notes of dusty earth and woody perennial herbs mingle with hints of nori, dried forest leaves and wild mushrooms to create an inviting aroma. This wine has a light fragrant entrance with blackcurrant, raspberry and pot pourri builds to earthy complexities and fine dry dusty tannins which serve to frame the fruit. A comfortable, soft, juicy body and tannin profile finishes the wine fresh and long.

How was it made?

A remarkably ripe and soft wine in such a cool vintage. The individual batches were destemmed and fermented as whole berries using only wild yeast residing on the fruit. Cabernet parcels underwent a suitable duration of maceration to extract a fine backbone of structural tannins and blackcurrant laden fruit. Malbec and Petit Verdot were pressed off skins earlier to maintain a soft and luscious mouth feel. The resulting wines were matured in fine French oak for 12 months prior to blending. Limited racking was used to help preserve the delicate wild characters captured in this low intervention approach.

2017 was a cooler and later vintage than the previous 10 years; a year of elegant, perhaps slightly lighter bodied wines, though ripe in flavour, vibrant and very perfumed. Higher than average yields in combination with a cooler season contributed to delayed ripening of the fruit and good acid retention. Some timely warmth and sunshine occurred throughout January, although February temperatures remained moderate with some rainfall. There was a warm start to March, followed by the driest April since 1982, finishing the reds beautifully.

Harvested from late March to early May 2017 and bottled in November 2018.

Who made it?

Vasse Felix was the first vineyard and winery to be established in Western Australia’s Margaret River region. Established in 1967 by Dr Tom Cullity, it is situated in the Willyabrup sub region where ancient soils and cooling Southern and Indian Ocean breezes provide ideal conditions for fine wine production. Vasse Felix is owned and operated by the Holmes a Court family. The Vasse Felix winemaking team shares a common goal in crafting wines of exceptional quality from unique vineyard sites. Under the direction of Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock, the objective remains the same today as it did 40 years ago. A precise understanding of local viticulture and environment is coupled with a hands on winemaking approach. The Vasse Felix style shows concentration and complexity while retaining signature elegance and finesse. It is a testament to winemaking and viticultural dedication and attention to detail throughout the year. The revered Vasse Felix Heytesbury wines are produced in limited quantities from a barrel selection of the finest fruit parcels each vintage. Vasse Felix continues to be one of the most highly awarded and visited wineries in Australia.