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Mills Reef Arthur Edmund Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Merlot 2020

$350.00

The “Arthur Edmund” series signifies the prestige icon wines of Mills Reef, produced in limited edition in only exceptional vintages.

They are the finest examples from great vineyard sites paired to ideally suited grape varieties, of low yielding vines, climatically exceptional growing seasons, hand harvested, and bunch selected, and with minimal-intervention winemaking to craft wines with unique excitement and a distinct sense of place.

The vineyards for this prestige wine are located within the famed Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District, an area renowned for producing world-class full-bodied red wines, and described by internationally-respected wine critic James Halliday as “… not just a very special parcel, it is a sacred site”.

Further, the 2020 growing season in the Gimblett Gravels is widely acclaimed as a ‘vintage of perfection’. Perfect in every way, yielding a long warm even climate, without heat waves or cold spells. Early Spring began with slightly higher rainfall and average temperatures, before the late spring where temperatures soared with below average rainfall. The summer continued along the same path, with long dry higher than average constant temperatures and little rainfall. Warm and dry, allowing optimum flavour development. A benchmark growing season!

This spectacular wine was handcrafted from perfectly ripened bunch selected grapes of mature low-yielding vines within the distinguished Gimblett Gravels region. Powerful and beguiling, yet with tremendous poise, this refined wine is a harmonious blend of two varieties in equal measure, revealing lusciously intense blackberry and cassis fruit purity, layered with mocha, toffee, and subtle earthy notes. Lingering fine oak seasoning, with seamlessly integrated fine plush tannins, culminating into a wonderfully rich spicy crescendo.

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Description

The “Arthur Edmund” series signifies the prestige icon wines of Mills Reef, produced in limited edition in only exceptional vintages.

They are the finest examples from great vineyard sites paired to ideally suited grape varieties, of low yielding vines, climatically exceptional growing seasons, hand harvested, and bunch selected, and with minimal-intervention winemaking to craft wines with unique excitement and a distinct sense of place.

The vineyards for this prestige wine are located within the famed Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District, an area renowned for producing world-class full-bodied red wines, and described by internationally-respected wine critic James Halliday as “… not just a very special parcel, it is a sacred site”.

Further, the 2020 growing season in the Gimblett Gravels is widely acclaimed as a ‘vintage of perfection’. Perfect in every way, yielding a long warm even climate, without heat waves or cold spells. Early Spring began with slightly higher rainfall and average temperatures, before the late spring where temperatures soared with below average rainfall. The summer continued along the same path, with long dry higher than average constant temperatures and little rainfall. Warm and dry, allowing optimum flavour development. A benchmark growing season!

Additional information

Amount

750mL

Wine Review

Fantastic bouquet and palate with a complex yet familiar array of red berry fruits, oak, complexity and power. Aromas of blackberry and dark Doris plum skin, fresh blueberries with synergies suggesting chocolate and fresh coffee bean, bark and baking spices, clove Tahitian vanilla. On the palate a dry wine with power and firmness from an abundance of polished chalky fine through moderate tannins supported by acidity and dryness, contrasting core of ripe red fruits and spices. A lot going on with this wine suggesting violets and gravels, the oak is soaked up easily by the fruit. Well made, complex and lengthy, a wine that is okay to drink from day of purchase through 2035+.
95 Points - Outstanding

Cameron Douglas MS

Food Pairings

Vineyards and Winemaking

The grapes for this distinguished wine are comprised of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot and were hand-picked on March 14th and April 1st respectively at an average Brix of 22.9 degrees.

The fruit was destemmed and transferred to open top fermentation vessels to have several parcels to later select from. Crushing was effected under the grapes’ own natural weight and cold-soaked for three days. Fermentation was thereafter initiated, with a combination of hand plunging and air rummage to extract and refine colour and structure.

Post fermentation, the parcels were allowed 14-20 days alcohol soak to attain optimal tannin structure and balance, before being gently pressed off skins and transferred to barrel in our temperature-controlled cellar for 18 months élevage in quality French oak barrels, all 100% new 300 litre hogsheads. With just one racking throughout, there was minimal disturbance to the wines to allow natural gravity settling and clarification to occur.

A rigorous barrel tasting process was then undertaken to select the ideal barrel component for the final blend and wine style, left unfined, to preserve the natural flavours, and bottled unfiltered on the 2nd of November 2021.