The Colonial Estate Exile Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 6pack

Bright and opulent purple in colour. The bouquet is elegantly proportioned with obvious varietal characters of ripe blackcurrant fruit infused with mint, fresh herbs, earth and plum. Wonderful density and depth to the aromatics, which reveal really profound Cabernet Sauvignon character. Fruit driven highlighted by pure plum flavour which is a highlight of Cabernet Sauvignon this year. The intense varietal characters along with some spice ensure a powerful mid palate. Lively with a great core and backbone, the oak is well integrated and compliments but doesn’t dominate. Well-rounded smooth tannins make this one of the most Moorish Cabernet Sauvignon we have produced. 

Sourced from a small block in the Seppeltsfield region of the Barossa. The vines that make up Exile were pruned severely and as a result of this and minimal water they produce extremely small yields. Exile grapes are all hand picked and the grapes are selected in individual batches by winemaker and vigneron. The grapes are harvested then transported to the winery where they are de-stemmed and crushed individually to small static fermenters. Fermentation was brought on by the use of select yeast strains and the temperatures peaked at 28 degrees before chilling back to 20 degrees for the completion of fermentation. The fermenters were pumped over 3 times daily to ensure the perfect amount of colour and tannin was extracted from the skins. A small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon was allowed to stay on skins for a week of additional maceration after the ferments were complete. The batches were then pressed into new French barrels where they under went malolatic fermentation and are then aged for 18 months before final barrel selection, blending and bottled with minimal filtration.