Judge Rock St Laurent 2015
Very deep purple with purple hues. Aromas of confected black plum and violets on the nose with white pepper and mushroom. Sweet red plum, spice and confected raspberries show on the palate along with hints of leather. The wine has soft fine grained tannin, good complexity and bright acidity with a long finish with lovely minerality.
Viticulture
Our westerly facing vineyard misses the early morning sun but bakes in the late sun. We cordon prune to 4-5 spurs per side to control the crop load. Vines are tended by hand 12-14 times a season with shoot thinning to two shoots per spur, tucking up, lateral removal, bunch thinning to 2 bunches per shoot, shoulder removal and leaf plucked for maximum sun exposure pre-veraison, removal of non-coloured bunches post veraison
Bunch weights averaged 150g per bunch.
Wine Making
The fruit was harvested on 14 April 2014 at 20.1 brix and was destemmed into a 4T stainless steel tank. Fermentation was with indigenous yeast. The wine was aged in French Oak barriques, for approximately 9 months, of which 29% was new oak.