Pirramimma Basket Weave Ironstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

This is the first vintage of this wine from the team – a great start – using Cabernet from the Reynell Clone from their ‘Orchard Block’, planted back in 1967. The Basket Weave vines are also fifty years old. 25% was fermented in new French oak with the rest in three to four-year-old barriques. The wine was in oak for 26 months, although it has sucked this up and the integration is impressive. There really is a lot to like here.

Near black in colour, more evidence of just how special the 2018 vintage was in McLaren Vale. Aromas include licorice, chocolate, soy, black fruits, aniseed, tobacco leaf, bell pepper and beef stock. The wine is finely balanced, with good length and velvety tannins. On the palate, flavours of black cherries emerge. There is a flick of acidity which keeps the wine fresh and alive and helps carry the flavours. What really appeals here is that there is more elegance than in many McLaren Vale reds, though everything is relative. A good decade ahead if you want.