Tasting Notes:

The Woodlands 2018 Brook Clémentine is very dark, very deep, and very powerful.

The colour is galaxy-deep crimson. The nose impresses with primary characters of violet, allspice, clove, cinnamon, anise and black olive. Notes of cigar box and leather brood in the background.

The palate enters with a impressive array of dark fruits - particularly blackberry and black currant. This is indeed "some serious stuff" with intensity of fruit matched by rich ripe tannins. Dusted cacao and roasted almonds linger, reinforcing the dry finish.

Hold until at least 2024, but best enjoyed from 2028 to 2033.

About The Vineyard:

The vineyard faces north west on free-draining Wilyabrup soils. The rows are a mere 2 metres from each other, providing a vine density roughly double that of the Woodlands vineyard. The soils are Wilyabrup Class 1 – with a clay loam top soil, a bed of gravel and then a bed of white clay. The existing vineyard is on a very gentle west facing slope, surrounded by south facing pastoral land.

Clémentine’ is Woodlands Brook Vineyard Cabernet blend. Produced since 2015, the wine takes its name from Andrew and Marie's daughter.

The Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot were already planted when they purchased the vineyard in 2008. Close planted, spur pruned, and in need of a little TLC, the wines produced initially were tannic. Over the years the Woodlands team have been converting the plots to cane pruning to soften the tannins, and create a more balanced canopy and fruit set. They planted the Cabernet Sauvignon in a gravelly meadow of Woodlands Brook in 2009, and these vines were brought up cane pruned and unirrigated. It took them longer to produce, but the fruit that arrived was fantastic – powerful, dark and perfumed.