Steve Hoff Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Steve Hoff Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 90 pts Robert Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate - Cedar, tobacco, spice box, black currant, and blackberry

Tasting Notes

The grapes for this wine were grown by our neighbours, Peter & Anita Frazer, whose low-yielding vineyard produces fruit of exceptional quality that displays intense richness & varietal character. As with our previous vintages this wine is a big, full- bodied wine with very obvious Cabernet character. The palate shows black currant and spice with firm tannins. Careful cellaring will enhance this wine for 8 – 10 years.

Food Accompaniments

Kangaroo fillet or steak.

Awards, Reviews and other Notes

90 pts Robert Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate (JM)
The crimson-colored 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 15 months in American oak, 30% new. It reveals a fine nose of cedar, tobacco, spice box, black currant, and blackberry. On the palate it is full-bodied, smooth-textured, ripe, and easygoing.

88 pts Stephen Tanzer International Wine Cellar (JR)
Deep ruby. Intensely spicy nose displays cherry, blackcurrant and pipe tobacco. Fresh dark berry flavors are braced by smoky minerals, with dusty tannins adding grip. Shuts down a bit on the finish, which is tangy and a touch bitter. Give this some time to flesh out and gain sweetness.

Winemaker Notes

The fruit is harvested at optimum flavour concentration which is monitored twice weekly by the winemaker. When the best flavours have developed ( which tend to be between 14 and 15.5 B depending on the season) the fruit is machine harvested at night to minimise oxidation and retain fruit character. Fruit is de-stemmed and pumped to open fermenters with an aim of about 50% whole berries. The fruit is cold macerated for 24 - 36 hours before inoculation with a pure yeast culture, the must is also adjusted with tartaric acid at this stage. Initial fermentation temperature is 25-30C and then maintained at 18-20C until about 2B. The ferment is pumped over twice daily until 0B then drained and pressed. All pressings are added back and fermentation is completed in tank. On completion of malolactic the wine is racked and SO2 adjusted, with 2 further rackings prior to oak maturation.Barrels are topped every 4-5 months and SO2 levels checked. After 12 months all barrels are tasted and graded prior to emptying and final blending before bottling. The wine has minimal filtration prior to bottling.

Chemical Analysis

Price

SKU

Varietal

Alcohol %:15.5%
Total Acid: 6.2
Free/Total Sulfur: 26/49
pH: 3.65
Residual Sugar: 1.4

$29.99

7881

Cabernet Sauvignon