Mount Horrocks Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
The wine has a great depth of colour. Classic Cabernet aromas of blackcurrant and herb, with a hint of chocolate and black olive characteristics. A wine of great concentration, with fine-grained supple tannins, lovely oak integration and tremendous length of flavour. The wine is composed and elegant on the finish.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is picked by hand from Mount Horrocks' single vineyard in the cooler Watervale sub-region of the Clare Valley. The fruit is grown organically from low-yielding vines with VSP trellising. The vines are hand pruned and undergo both shoot and fruit thinning.
Hand-picked from Stephanie's low yielding vineyard, the grapes were fermented in open top fermenters. The ferment was gently plunged several times a day. A gentle pressing followed fermentation before the wine then spent 18 months ageing in French oak barriques, of which 36% were new.
Mount Horrocks Wines, in Clare Valley, is owned by winemaker Stephanie Toole, who purchased the estate in 1993 after a career selling fine wines in Perth. By April 1998, she had renovated the historic Auburn Railway station as her cellar door and by 2000 she had acquired land in Watervale to plant her own vineyards. The grape varieties are carefully matched to each site's soil and microclimate. These include the 'Cordon Cut' vineyard, close to the cellar door, which has been planted only with Riesling. The 'Alexander' vineyard at Watervale is planted with just Shiraz, while the ‘Watervale’ vineyard boasts Riesling, SemiIIon, Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon. With this level of care, and attention to detail, it is unsurprising that Stephanie’s wines are now regarded as among Clare Valley’s finest. To quote James Halliday’s 2023 Wine Companion, “Stephanie Toole has never deviated from the pursuit of excellence in the vineyard and winery. The attention to detail and refusal to cut corners are obvious in all her wines.”
Mount Horrocks are now ‘A grade certified’ organic and biodynamic, one of only two wineries locally to do so. As all fruit is hand-picked and gently handled, fining is unnecessary, meaning all the wines are suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Having overseen the regeneration of the land, Stephanie believes this involves more than certification; it requires a different way of thinking. Classic, no-compromise winemaking combined with a fully integrated organic and biodynamic approach to growing and making sets Mount Horrocks Wines apart from the status quo.
Stephanie’s wines are designed with food in mind, emphasising structure and generous fruit flavours. She restricts production to no more than 2,500 cases each year to achieve her aims of quality and single-vineyard expression.
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