Mainly Shiraz from all his plots blended mid-fermentation with Cab Sav from his Driveway plot. Inky and deep with a touch of freshness. Both grape varietals are de-stemmed which gives the fruit a beautifully rounded, juicy quality. There are some typical aromas to the wine you'd associate with this part of Australia, but on the palate the wine is totally different - no oak barrels so its just layer upon layer of wonderful blackcurrant fruit, a suggestion of the herbal and some flashes of green from the Cab Sauv. Truly individual Margaret River wine!
Sam spent time making wine in Australia and all over Europe before settling in Sicily on Mount Etna. Here he worked with Frank Cornellisen among others before embarking on his own project which sadly fell through. In 2014 he returned to his native Western Australia (he grew up in Perth) and in 2015 made his first wines with grapes he bought from growers working the way he wanted (without herbicides and systemic chemicals and dry farmed where possible). In early 2017 Sam took on the lease of a farm in Cowaramup. The farm totals around 6.5ha of vines that had been worked conventionally and 75% was irrigated. He immediately stopped the use of herbicides etc. and stopped irrigating. He suspects that the irrigation system never actually worked properly as the vines did not suffer at all when the system was removed. The 6.5ha are made up of different plots of Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. All the vines are 'Own Rooted' i.e. un-grafted. The youngest of them are 21 years old and the oldest around 35 years. This part of Australia is incredibly hot and does not benefit from much rain though Sam says Cowaramup gets more rain than elsewhere. The coast is not far and has a cooling effect as far as that goes! The soils here are some of the oldest formations and the majority of Sam's plantings are on predominantly sandy soils with varying amounts of gravel.
