Wendouree Clare Valley Malbec 2008

‘AP Birks’ Wendouree is among Australia’s most collectible and sought after names in wine. This is picture perfect South Australia, Chocolate brown soils of the Clare hills, broken up with the contrast of rustic old buildings and eucalyptus trees.

Planting commenced in 1892 with a 0.2Ha block of Cabernet Sauvignon and then subsequent Birks generations planted further varieties, Shiraz in 1911 and additional Cabernet planting in 1971, eventually ending up with 50Ha of vines in total. Through time, overall plantings were reduced to about 25Ha in order to better manage the quality of the soil & the fruit to focus on making the best wines possible.

Vines are all dry-grown (no irrigation), produce grapes of fantastic concentration of flavour from the now, knarled old vines. Ultimately delivering a wine of concentration and power, built to stand the test of time. Needless to say, production is extremely limited with most wines sold through an allocation program.

Floral, fragrant/perfumed with a firm seam and structure. Classic Wendouree on the palate -silky and stylish, but the fine chewy tannins present a striking backbone. Perfectly bottle aged Malbec with now softened tannins and integrated fruit.