Melba Reserve 1999

Appearance: Deep red in colour.

Bouquet: Intense concentrated blackberry fruit with cedary oak.

Palate: Full ripe fruit flavours with complex oak, rich soft tannins and good palate length.

Recommended Cuisine:  Serve with rich, red meat dishes such as roast rib or fillet mignon.

Cellaring: This wine will mature and age extremely well over the next 8 - 10 years under good cellaring conditions.

Wine Analysis:  
Alcohol : 13.5 %             
pH : 3.62
TA : 6.1g/L

Winemaker’s Comments: The 1999 Melba was selected from mature Yarra Valley cabernet sauvignon vines grown in shallow soils with minimal irrigation.  A warm dry season resulted in low cropping levels with an average of 2.2 tonnes to the acre.  The fruit is destemmed and fermented at warm temperatures to extract maximum colour and flavour.  The wines are macerated after fermentation for 14 days before pressing and are racked to new and one year old French oak barriques for 15 months.  Minimal filtration is adopted to preserve fruit flavour.