2019 Lenko Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon Appassimento

The 2019 Appassimento grapes were harvested with excellent flavour in and the fruit was hanging clean on the vines. We hand harvested, with extreme care ensuring no skins were broken, placing 5-6 clusters per picking bin. The bins were then arranged carefully in our drying kilns to be slowly dehydrated until they reached the phenolic profile and sugar concentration we had desired. The dehydrated clusters were then transferred into to their fermentation vessel. Once alcoholic fermentation is complete and the tannin structure is right, we gently press the wine off of the skins and pump it to a settling tank. After settling, the wine is put into Bourbon barrel for malolactic fermentation and aging. The wine is sulphured in barrel to preserve the character and fruit and continues to age with careful monitoring for 12 months. When aging and maturing was complete the wine was then taken out of barrel and transferred into tank as the final wine. A light filtration is carried out before bottling.