Black Label Cabernet Shiraz Malbec 2013
Wolf Blass
Black Label Cabernet Shiraz Malbec 2013
Wolf Blass
Black Label Cabernet Shiraz Malbec 2013
Overview
Overview
Since 1973, the chase to make the perfect wine has been fundamental to creating 41 remarkable vintages of Black Label. Artful blending has made a sophisticated, multi-layered wine with a complex composition of intense fruit and magnificent structure.
The philosophy behind Black Label is simple: to take the year’s very best wines and weave them together into a synergistic whole, the resultant wine being greater than the sum of its parts. It’s about creating a wine with many layers of flavour in a complex composition of intense fruit characters, magnificent structure, a rich lustrous texture, long velvety tannins and a lingering palate.
Harvested at optimum maturity and flavour, fruit from each vineyard was crushed, destemmed and fermented separately for seven to twelve days on skins. The ferments were allowed to warm naturally with plunging and gentle pumping over used to maximise colour and flavour extraction. Mid-ferment cooling extended fermentation, exploiting time on skins and accentuating line and length. The wines were pressed while still retaining a touch of sugar, then transferred to barrel to complete fermentation, allowing a balanced integration of oak characters and enhancing texture and complexity.
| Varietal | Cabernet Shiraz Malbec |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2013 |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Multi-Region Blend |
| Volume | 750 mL |
| Closure | Screw Cap |
| Alc/Vol | 14.5% |
| Peak Drinking | 2016 - 2041 |
| Winemaker | Steven Frost |
Food Pairing
Food Pairing
Beef
Lamb
Duck
Veg
Pizza
Taste Description
Taste Description
Nose
A Black Label nose through and through, with plenty of fragrant blackberry, cassis and dark plum fruits reinforced with roast coffee, chocolate, black liquorice and toasted nut complexity derived from maturation and barrel fermentation. Hints of sage and tobacco leaf add attractive highlights, with classic cigar-box bottle-age development just starting to show.
Flavours and Palate
Rich, generous and complex, filled with sweet, ripe dark plum and blackcurrant fruit flavours layered with savoury secondary flavours of coffee and cedary oak. Regional and varietal distinction is overshadowed by distinctive Black Label style, showing definitive power and elegance through seamless texture, beautifully balanced, lingering fruit and smooth, structural, chocolatey tannins.
Viticulture Vintage & Winemaking
Viticulture Vintage & Winemaking
South Australia
Home to the oldest vines in the country, and no less than 18 wine growing regions, South Australia accounts for almost 50% of Australia’s wine production. The Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Coonawarra are well known for their world class reds, with Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Eden Valley praised for their exceptional Chardonnay and Riesling.
The season started well, with good winter and early spring rains providing excellent soil moisture profiles and lush, healthy canopies. Early flowering with inconsistent fruit set impacted yields, while warm autumn nights brought on an early, condensed harvest with rapid ripening and flavour development. Despite this, reds show depth of flavour, focused tannins and vibrant colours.
Steven Frost - Winemaker
Steve grew up in his family's restaurant business in the Yarra Valley where, at an early age, his interest in food and wine was cultivated.
Though it wasn't his first career, growing and making wine was always Steve's passion, with most weekends spent working part-time in vineyards and making wines with friends.
Steve started working in the wine industry full-time in 1999, the same year he started a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) at Charles Sturt University. Drawn to work in the Barossa in 2005, he's been making Wolf Blass reds since 2008. The winery's expansive vineyard resources, modern and traditional winemaking techniques, and careful approach to blending proved just as irresistible then as they do now.