Tasting Notes
The fruit from this small vineyard in Verdun has produced a wine with deep red/black hues, complemented by aromas of dark cherries and plums, cedary spice and hints of bitter chocolate. These aromas are seen to flow onto the palate with fleshy red/black fruit supported by fine dry tannins with the wine finishing even, long and balanced.

Cellaring
With this wine’s ripe fruit character and long fine tannin structure, the wine should age and drink well over the next 7-8 years. The bottom line is what you prefer to drink, young vibrant fruit driven wines or aged more complex styles?

Viticulture
The fruit from this wine comes from a small vineyard (< 2 ha) in the heart of Verdun, in the Adelaide Hills. The vineyard rows run down the hill following the NW aspect and are planted on red brown clay mottled with granite and rock. The canopy is structured as a true Vertical Shoot Position (VSP). The vineyard is meticulously looked after by its owner, Sue Lambert, as she is aspiring to deliver Merlot of paramount quality.

Vinification & Maturation
The fruit was hand picked and the bunches destemmed, keeping the berries as intact as possible. The fruit was cold soaked for 2.5 days post harvest and allowed to reach a temperature of 300C during the fermentation. After a total of 12 days on skins the skins were pressed with all the free run and pressings being combined at this time. After 24 hours the wine was racked to 2-4 yo barriques, where the wine went through malolactic fermentation and was matured for 11 months before bottling. During the maturation period the wine was racked twice at regular intervals.

Technical Analysis
Harvest date: April 2003
Baume: 14.1
Bottling Date: March 2004
Alc/Vol: 14.3 %

Region - Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills is fast becoming renowned as one of Australia's premium grape growing regions. Bordered by Kuitpo in the South and Mt Pleasant in the North, the region is long and narrow and can be accessed within an hour to the east of Adelaide.

We source our Merlot from a rich vineyard in Verdun, on the banks of the Onkaparinga River with excellent exposure allowing the fruit to attain balanced sugar and flavour ripeness. (more)

Order - 2003 Le Grenouille Click here to order

Award - Silver Medal, 2004, Australian Boutique Wine Show

“If all our Hillsbilly merlot’s had this heart & poise we’d be rockin.”
Philip White