Viticulture: Carmenère is a vigorous variety. We have it wide planted (2 metre vine spacing) to avoid excessive fruit shading. The vines are cane pruned, canopies are VSP (vertical shoot positioned) and the fruit is hand picked. The variety is very late ripening. On our site it ripens 3 weeks after Shiraz and 1-2 weeks after Cabernet Sauvignon. We crop it at about 1 tonne per acre.

Winemaking: We handle the fruit in much the same way as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which are the other components in our Angels’ Share blend. Each variety is picked, fermented and barrel aged separately; blending takes place 6-8 weeks prior to bottling. We pick at approximately 13.5° Beaumé, fully de-stem but only 50% crush the fruit (i.e. 50% whole berries). Wine is spontaneously (“wild”) fermented in insulated steel vats at moderate temperature (25° C) to retain violet/floral perfumed characters. The wine is left to macerate on skins for 2 weeks and undergoes malolactic fermentation in the vat before pressing to 1 and 2 year old French oak hogsheads. The wine is aged on wood for 14 months and is racked twice in that time.

Tasting Note: The Angels’ Share takes its name from the traditional term given to wine lost from barrels through evaporation (‘the Angels drank it …….’). This wine clearly shows it’s Bordeaux heritage and showcases the ‘lost’ grape variety Carmenère, which has been pioneered in Australia by Amietta. Typically the wine shows red berries, blackcurrant and violets, with briary, leathery and cigar-box notes. Fourteen months in French oak 300 litre ‘hogsheads’ has given a lovely balance of ripe fruit, subtle oak and fine tannins, producing a fine, elegant wine. Very Bordeaux, very yum!

Only 70 cases of this wine were produced.