Cabernet Sauvignon Clare Valley 2020 – Mount Horrocks

The grapes to produce the Cabernet Sauvignon Clare Valley Mount Horrocks were hand picked and fermented in open fermenters. A gentle pressing followed fermentation before the wine was matured in French oack barriques, of which 35% was new, for 18 months.

Hand picked from Mount Horrocks’ estate owned single vineyard in the cooler Polish Hill River sub-region of the Clare Valley which is managed using sustainable natural farming and organic practices.

Mount Horrocks is owned by winemaker Stephanie Toole, who restricts production to approximately 2,500 cases per year in order to achieve her aims of quality and single-vineyard expression. The Clare Valley winery was established in 1980 and purchased by Stephanie in 1993, since then she has made significant improvements to the wines, vineyards and winery. In 2014, the winery and vineyards were organically certified by the ACO (Australian Certified Organic). Stephanie describes her wines as ‘hand-made food wines’ with an emphasis on structure as well as generous fruit flavours. All grapes are estate grown and hand picked from two organically managed vineyards: the ‘Cordon Cut’ vineyard at Auburn close to the cellar door, planted only to Riesling; and the ‘Alexander’ vineyard at Watervale for Riesling, Semillon, Nero d’Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. She has a total of nearly 10 hectares of vines. Stephanie’s persistence with classic, no-compromise winemaking and a fully integrated organic approach to growing sets Mount Horrocks wines apart from the mainstream.