Lake Breeze – ‘Arthur’s Reserve’, Langhorne Creek – 2020

PRODUCER NOTE:
Lake Breeze is located in Langhorne Creek, South Australia, where the Follett family has been farming grapes since the 1880s. The estate is situated on the banks of Lake Alexandrina and the vineyard benefits from the ‘lake breeze’. Winemaker Greg Follett was brought up on the farm but left to study winemaking at Roseworthy before heading to make wine in California and France. He returned to his roots and in 1987 started making wine exclusively from the best 30 per cent of his old vine fruit. He rapidly built an enviable reputation for consistently producing outstanding wines and Lake Breeze is now one of the most awarded boutique wineries in Australia and has recently been awarded the accolade of being Halliday’s Best Value Winery 2022.

VINEYARD:
This stylish wine is a tribute to Arthur Follett, who planted the first vines on the family property in the 1880’s. The grapes for the Arthur’s Reserve were carefully selected from 40 to 50 year old vines from the family vineyard on the famous Langhorne Creek flood plain. This dry region, situated at the bottom of the Murray River, is irrigated by a weir floodgate system, and when flooded it has been known for a canoeist to be spotted among the vineyards! The vineyards are surrounded by striking, historically important gum trees that still bear the holes that were once dug out by the Aboriginal Australians to carve into canoes to sail up the river.

WINEMAKING:
Small open fermenters were used with maceration times varying from eight to 12 days. The wine was then aged in 100% French Oak for 20 months, with only the best barrels of the vintage chosen for the final blend, which remained unfined and unfiltered.

TASTING NOTE:
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot, this is crafted from some of the finest hand picked fruit from the Lake Breeze vineyards. An award-winning voluptous red blend of spice, eucalyptus with gentle hints of violets – great longevity ahead as the soft black and blueberry fruit develops more briary and earthy undertones.

GRAPE:
2013 – Cabernet Sauvignon 86%, Petit Verdot 9%, Malbec 5%.
2018 – Cabernet Sauvignon 93%, Malbec 5%, Petit Verdot 2%.

COUNTRY:
Australia

REGION:
South Australia

SUB-REGION:
Langhorne Creek

AWARDS:
2013 – Silver, Sommelier Wine Awards, 2019