From the winery:
(2008 description)The 2008 vintage of the Cullen flagship red wine, which was made from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, is a particularly elegant example of this renowned wine style. Part of the reason for this elegance stems from the benefits of using biodynamic viticulture as this has led to a marked improvement in the structure and oxygenation of the soil. This in turn has enhanced tannin ripening. As a result, the fruit can be harvested earlier at lower sugar levels and higher natural acidity. The alcohol concentration of the finished wine is lower in line with levels sought by Cullen Wines. All of this creates a wine which is elegant and balanced. The elegance can also be attributed, in part, to the beneficial effects of using a recently-acquired Mistral® apparatus, which removes the leaf material and infertile berries from the quality fruit in the winery. This method of berry sorting provides cleaner fruit than the bunch sorting that was previously used in the vineyard. In addition, Cullen Wines have now turned to the old and well established practice of employing a basket press. To their delight, they have found that this leads to the extraction of only fine quality tannins.
Bouquet
Intense, clean and fresh perfumed aromas, derived from the blackberry, plum and mulberry fruit characters, are backed by good vanillin oak.
Intense, clean and fresh perfumed aromas, derived from the blackberry, plum and mulberry fruit characters, are backed by good vanillin oak.
Palate
Elegant and very well integrated, with the fresh and clean blackberry and plum characters carrying through from the bouquet.
Elegant and very well integrated, with the fresh and clean blackberry and plum characters carrying through from the bouquet.