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Wine Description
The Story
Vanya Cullen has taken her cabernet merlot into the top echelon of Australian Cabernet through dogged determination, curiosity and superb technical skills. The exemplary vineyard site is planted on ancient granitic soils in the central Willyabrup sub-region of Margaret River. Cullen has adopted the principles of biodynamic viticulture to “achieve greater individuality of site through working with nature rather than against it”. This estate style is about freshness and complexity, structure and suppleness. The wines have pronounced cassis and cedar aromas with fine beautifully ripe tannins. Earthy, anise, gamy aromas and flavours develop with age. Diane Madeline Cabernet Merlot is named in memory of Di Cullen who established the winery and vineyard with her husband in 1966 and is pure bottled philosophy.
Top Vintages 2010, 2008, 2004, 2002, 2001,1999,1998,1997,1996,1995,1994
Wine Information
Rain in the later parts of 2008 provided the ideal base for this vintage. The early months of 2009 saw a small amount of rain, though just enough, and no unduly hot weather – a total of just four hours where the mercury climbed above 33C. Vanya called it the “dream vintage”. There was some crop loss due to Looper caterpillars but the red gums had a fine year also, managing to keep the birds at bay. They were replaced by kangaroos, who acquired a taste for the grapes. Netting and proper fencing is now mandatory.
As a vintage, this was as good as it gets.
Cabernet was harvested between March 10 and 30 at 2.03 tonnes/acre; Merlot on March 11 at just 0.87; Malbec on March 2 at 1.32; and Franc on March 9 at 1.6. Alcohol was just 12.5%. The final blend was 88% Cabernet, 6% Franc, 4% Merlot and 2% Malbec. It spent 13 months in French oak, 55% of which was new.
Vintage 2009
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Near-optimum rainfall over winter, followed by dry, mild conditions over spring provided a good environment for budburst and an ideal start to the growing season with canopies developing well. Climatic conditions favoured flowering and set with mild and calm weather, however there was some shatter in Shiraz across parts of the state resulting in small crops for many regions. Some early to mid-December summer rainfall was followed by conditions drying up very quickly and continuing until the end of February. Summer was hot with some extreme heat but cool conditions returned in February and March, allowing the fruit to ripen across a long harvest with balanced acidities and excellent tannin ripeness. An elegant, yet still powerful follow up to the conditions brought about in the preceding 2008 vintage |