2022 Singlefile Great Southern Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
VINEYARD & WINEMAKING
This wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. The fruit was picked and hand-sorted in late April 2022. The two varietal parcels were cold soaked in small fermenters for three days before undergoing a gentle and extended maceration. This approach helped to soften the tannin profile. The wine was then matured in 225L Bordeaux oak barriques, 30% new, with the balance to aged Bordeaux barriques. The wine was matured in these barrels for fourteen months before being prepared for final blending and bottling.
THE WINE
This wine displays bright and lifted aromas of dark berry, cassis and earthiness with gentle oak support. The wine is alluring in its delicacy but also carries serious power. It is both effortlessly mouth filling with juicy red fruit flavours as well as being balanced with acidity and fine-grained tannins which leads to a long finish. The wine has good palate weight and is well suited to food such as red meat dishes or a roast leg of lamb with garlic and herbs. It will improve with further time in bottle.
CRITIC REVIEWS OF NOTE
2022 Vintage
93 points, Wine Showcase, December 2023
2021 Vintage
94 points, Wine Showcase Magazine, July 2023
2020 Vintage
97 points, Winestate Magazine Cabernet & Bordeaux Challenge, July/Aug 2022
2019 Vintage
94 points, Peter Muscat, Wine Showcase Magazine, June 2021
93 points, Ray Jordan's Top 100 Reds, July 2021
2018 Vintage
5 stars, Best Wines of 2020, Western Australia, Winestate Magazine, Annual Edition 2021
4 stars, Best Wines of 2020, New Releases, Winestate Magazine, Annual Edition 2021
96 points, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion, Aug 2020
5 stars, Equal Top in Category, Best of the West, Winestate Magazine, May 2020
4 stars, Winestate Magazine, Feb 2020
2017 Vintage
96 points, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion, Aug 2019
92 points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com, Jun 2019
92 points, Steve Leszczynski, QWine, Jun 2019
96 points, Top 40 Winter Reds, James Halliday, The Weekend Australian, May 2019
17.5 points, Barry Weinman, Fine Wine Club, May 2019
16.0 points, Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, Dec 2018
96 points, James Halliday, Top 100, The Australian, Nov 2018
2016 Vintage
95 points, Ned Goodwin, Australian Wine Companion, Aug 2018
17.5 points, Regan Drew, Vinonotebook, Jun 2018
92 points, Steve Leszczynski, QWine, Apr 2018
17.8 points, Barry Weinman, Fine Wine Club, Apr 2018
92 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, Mar 2018
2015 Vintage
95 points, Jane Faulkner, Australian Wine Companion, Aug 2017
92 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, Apr 2017
92 points, QWine, Jun 2017
18.3 points, Barry Weinman, Fine Wine Club, Jul 2017
2014 Vintage
95 points, James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion, Oct 2016
93 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, May 2016
18 points, Barry Wineman, Fine Wine Club, Aug 2016
Product Reviews
This pairs beautifully with an Italian meal (we had pizza) and is a crowd pleaser. We served lightly chilled on a warm Perth evening.
A medium ruby red colour. The nose has alluring aromas of violets, graphite, blackberries, and tobacco. The wine is supremely elegant but also has plenty of intensity. There is lovely juicy acidity which combines with grainy tannins. Notes of dark red fruits such as blackcurrant, dark cherries ๐, mulberries, and cassis. Good palate weight. Long persistent finish. Lovely wine ๐ท.
Enjoyable now but can be cellared confidently over the next 5-7 years.