De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate Sauvignon 750ml

94 Points
"One of the standouts of a great lineage of De Bortoli Sauvignon and more deeply mineral and intenseley textural than ever. Beautiful aromatics of bright grapefruit blossom; clean-cut lemon carry through the palate."

Tyson Stelzer, Wine 100, August 2011

Region
Yarra Valley

Appearance
Light straw with a green edge.

Bouquet
Subtle Sauvignon fruit. Some flinty, slate notes.

Palate
A textured palate which shows fine, slatey flavours wound together with some balanced phenolics to give length and longevity.

Vintage Conditions
The 2009 – 2010 growing season saw our earliest budburst for sometime. Timely rainfall in early summer gave the vineyard some relief from a dry winter and spring. Conditions for ripening were ideal with warm days and cool nights. The fruit was hand picked in the cool of the morning.

Winemaking
Fruit is selected from 4 distinct estate vineyards. The grapes are hand picked and whole bunch crushed and pressed to extract some good phenolics for texture and minerality. Once the fruit is pressed, it is allowed to settle overnight before roughly racking to older French oak casks for fermentation. No yeast is added. Some lees stirring is used, depending on each parcel.

Wine Analysis
Alc/Vol : 12.45 %   pH : 3.27   TA : 5.9 g/L 

Cellaring
The wine will continue to develop complexity and interest with good cellaring for up to 5-8 years.

Suggested Cuisine
Freshly shucked, chilled Coffin Bay oysters.

General Characteristics
Dry    Medium Bodied