Terre à Terre Crayères Vineyard Reserve 2016
“The Terre à Terre Crayères Vineyard “clarets”, based on cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and cabernet franc, are wayfinding wines and worth seeking out. These are retro modern styles because the maturation time in oak for over two years is typical of 19th and early 20th Century winemaking practices, but the use of new oak for a part of the journey is more contemporary. These wines have a timeless quality that can only be achieved from extended oak maturation, a practice that was considered standard in earlier times.
Medium crimson. Fragrant blackcurrant, black olive, chinotto aromas with roasted walnut notes. Supple and well concentrated wine with fresh blackcurrant, dark cherry, black olive fruits, fine grainy vigorous tannins and underlying roasted walnut, roasted chestnut oak. Finishes grippy/ ferruginous firm with bitter-sweet notes. A reserva-style claret with the interplay of fruit, tannin and oak in constant flux. 68% cabernet sauvignon, 16% shiraz, 16% cabernet franc. Eleven months in predominantly (84%) new oak and then extra aging of 17 months in five-year old oak foudre. Aged in bottle for 18 months before release. Drink now – 2030”
93 points
Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
November 2021
