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Hickinbotham Winery The Nest McLaren Vale Cabernet Franc

This Cabernet Franc expresses varietal characteristics of black tea, raspberry and bay leaf. A dense mid-palate finish in velvety tannins.

The Cabernet Franc fruit is sourced from Hickinbotham’s Block 107. The fruit is hand-picked, destemmed and whole-berry sorted before being gently crushed. Following cold soaking, native fermentation occurs leading to 15 days on the skins with daily pump-overs. The must is basket pressed with light pressings included in the free run and drained directly to barrel. Aged for 15 months in fine-grain Bordeaux coopered barrels of which 50% are new.

Region McLaren Vale

The McLaren Vale wine region is located between the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Gulf of St Vincent just South of Adelaide in South Australia. Historically it was John Reynell who established Chateau Reynella in 1838, and Thomas Hardy who purchased the historic Tintara in 1876, that kick started the development of the McLaren Vale wine industry. The climate is generally considered warm, although different aspects, altitude and the effect of the cooling ocean breezes moderate the climate within the different sub-regions of the Vale. A large number of soil types are present, although red-brown loams dominate. The biggest viticultural challenge is the potential for drought and the overall lack of water. Full bodied, robust and plush reds typify the McLaren Vale style. Plantings are dominated by Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, with smaller plantings of whites including Semillon, and Chardonnay. More recent plantings of Mediterranean varieties particularly suited to the climate, including Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Mourvedre, Savagnin and Fiano have also been very successful.