Australian Premium Wine Collection re 1996 Highbank Coonawarra

Dennis Vice is very excited to offer this wine back to his compatriots. After spending many years as a viticulturist in California, Dennis settled in Australia’s home of Cabernet Sauvignon and related varieties; the Coonawarra, South Australia. Apart from maintaining this vineyard Dennis also lectures in viticulture and applies his knowledge and experience with the result being just about the finest the region can achieve.

The vines are hand pruned to ensure low yields of concentrated, evenly ripe berries and in turn the bunches are harvested by hand to ensure that they arrive at the winery in prime condition. This lack of intervention by machine is very rare in the region. A wonderful array of complex flavors is the just result of this truly hands on approach. There is blackberry, blueberry and plums along with a minty, herbal character. In addition there is just a hint of some toasty new oak. The palate is closed and tight, very much expected as the wine is in its infancy stage of development, but there is obviously great concentration and depth of flavor. The length of the back palate is impressive with firm, finely grained tannins.

The balance between the structure and the fruit characters enable to drink the wine now but it really needs several years, somewhere between 8-10 years in the cellar to allow the tannins
to soften, the oak to integrate and the fruit to ever so gently oxidise.

If you drink the wine in its youth, match it to hearty red meat dishes that have concentrated rich sauces, as this will balance the firmness at the finish of the wine.