the 2007 growing season
Despite a cool summer, the 2007 growing season was one of the best on record with a particularly warm, dry spell over the critical March and April harvest period. This enabled clean fruit to be harvested at optimal ripeness, resulting in wines with ripe flavour, ripe texture and good concentration.

soil type
Gimblett Gravels: Very recent alluvial greywacke gravels interspersed with varying levels of silt and sand, these warm soils are extremely infertile and free draining, allowing precise control over vine vigour and resultant fruit quality.
clonal/rootstock selection
Cabernet Sauvignon (51%): UCD Clone 7 Merlot (49%): BDX clone 181

Winemaking Details
After careful fruit selection, the grapes were fully destemmed and crushed. The Merlot was fermented in a conventional closed top stainless steel fermenter, while the Cabernet Sauvignon was crushed to one
of our 12-year-old French Oak Cuves. Cold soak was not encouraged and fermentation was initiated immediately. The wines were pumped over 3 times a day, with significant levels of aeration both during and after fermentation. This encourages finely- structured tannins, aromatic complexity and better long term stability in the wines. Total maceration length was 2 weeks for the Merlot and 5 weeks for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Wines were tasted daily to assess required maceration length and level of aeration, before being drained and pressed. The press wine was tasted back into the free run juice before the wine was filled to barriques for malolactic fermentation. The wines were clarified by periodic racking during their time in oak and the final wine was bottled without fining or filtration.

Oak
Individual parcels were aged in French oak barriques (of which 71% were new) for 15 months before the blend was put together. The wine was then returned to barrel for a further 6 months maturation.

aroma and palate
This is a dense, multi-dimensional wine that changes and unfolds with time in the glass. Deep, rich red in colour, this wine has a complex array of black fruits, floral notes and secondary complexities, including cedar, cigar box, earth, spice and dark chocolate. In the tradition of great Bordeaux wines, Tom 2007 exhibits exceptional concentration balanced by a backbone of firm tannin. The wine is powerful, but tight and long-textured. Take time to enjoy the unfolding and multi-dimensional aroma and flavours - serve with good food to fully appreciate its texture and structure.

cellaring and food matching
The concentration and structure of this wine promises to repay long-term cellaring for at least 10 years from the vintage date. Expect the wine to develop further complexity and a softer structure with time. This is a wine to be savoured and thought about. Tom 2007 will greatly reward decanting 30 minutes before serving and is superbly matched to robust, savoury-style red meat dishes.

Edit this Article