Lake Breeze – Cabernet Merlot ‘Bull Ant’, Langhorne Creek – 2020-21

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:
The Langhorne Creek is situated south-east of Adelaide and is a premium viticultural region with cooling lake and ocean breezes. The vines have an average age of 40 years and are cultivated on their own rootstocks in soils that are generally alluvial sandy loam with some parts over a clay base. This dry region, situated at the bottom of the Murray River, is irrigated by a weir floodgate system. The vineyards are surrounded by striking, historically important gum trees that still bear the holes that were once dug out by the Aboriginal Australians which were carved into canoes to sail up the river. The Bull Ant depicted on the label refers to the ants that were discovered in the vineyard when it was first planted, their propensity for biting encouraged swift work in the vineyard!

WINEMAKING:
Fruit selection was paramount for this wine. The grapes were fermented on their skins in small, eight tonne, open static tanks; which lasted for seven days with hand pumpingover and rack and returns thrice daily. The young wine was then pressed to oak barriques to complete the fermentation. The wine was then matured for 15 months in French and American oak.

TASTING NOTE:
An amazing lifted bouquet of blackberries is complemented by a touch of mocha. Rich and smooth on the palate it offers a lovely soft finish with polished tannins.

GRAPE:
Cabernet Sauvignon 92%, Merlot 8%.

COUNTRY:
Australia

REGION:
South Australia

SUB-REGION:
Langhorne Creek