The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
News
Rich dark fruits fill a palate that is both crisp and concentrated. Velvety, fresh fine grained tannins with balanced acidity give flow and length to the palate. Considered oak completes the layers in this outstanding vintage resulting in a wine that carries the classic St Hugo signature of power and elegance.
Wine Description
The Story
St Hugo wines honour the legacy of Hugo Gramp who was a visionary leader and managing director of Gramp & Sons winery from 1920 to 1938. The brand was first launched in 1983 with the inaugural 1980 vintage of St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the following 30 vintages this wine has gained an enviable reputation as a highly awarded wine with over 1000 wine show awards including 33 trophies, and is listed on fine wine auctioneers’ Langtons Classification of Australian Wine VI proving the wine’s pedigree and desirability on the auction market. St Hugo’s wine style is driven by a combination of power and elegance.
St Hugo has a long and respected history and remains a top-notch, premium Cabernet with classic Coonawarra cassis flavours, a hint of mint and dusty earthiness. A smooth and elegant texture, well-structured with neither acid nor tannins sitting out of place.
This vintage certainly hasn't missed the mark.
Wine Information
The key to producing St Hugo is the vineyard is in the selection process. Each Coonawarra vineyard was carefully monitored as ripening progressed and only those parcels exhibiting excellent potential in terms of colour, varietal expression and tannin structure were set aside as candidates for inclusion in the St Hugo blend. All grapes delivered to the winery were de-stemmed and crushed into static fermenters.
Extraction of colour, flavour and tannin was achieved by “pumping over” regularly, allowing the fermenting juice to percolate through the skins. Full drain and returns were also employed at various stages through fermentation to help build structured yet supple tannin profiles. Once optimum colour, flavour and tannin extraction were achieved, the young wines were drained from the skins; the skins were then pressed, and the pressings fractions returned to the free-run. Malolactic fermentation and 22 months’ maturation took place in 55% new French oak and 7% new American oak hogsheads, with balance in a mix of used oak. Tasting of individual parcels revealed those that showed the distinctive regional and varietal characteristics required for St Hugo, and these were used to create the final blend. The wine was matured for an additional 14 months in bottled prior to release to allow the wine to integrate further.