Stonyridge
Larose 2008 750ml

The fruit came in between March 17th and April 12th, the earliest start and finish to a Stonyridge vintage ever. Crop levels, while high, were balanced with a strong healthy canopy, leading to the largest amount of Larose ever produced in a single year.

Our flagship wine is dark and dense with great fruit expression from the five Bordeaux varieties. Cassis, plum, berries, our customary talclike fragrance with sumptuous chocolate, tobacco and earth on the nose and fine spices, cedar and pencil shavings derived from the oak. A big mouth filling wine, matured in 70% new French oak this wine is engulfed by the huge ripe fruit. Richly flavoured and beautifully complex, with immaculate tannin and structure, the aromas flow through to the palate which is flooded with ripe dark fruits and well-integrated French oak. This wine is greatly concentrated with a finish that lasts and lasts.

Smoky, toasty, cassis and fine gravel, burnt rose, pronounced oak. The palate in contrast is gentle with elegance. Grammy-awardwinning tannins, a wine yet to release its full potential - in fact it reminds me of a Chateau Lafite I once had – just outstanding!

Encépagement: Cabernet Sauvignon 37%, Malbec 29%, Merlot 16%, Petit Verdot 16%, Cabernet Franc 2%