Terre à Terre Crayères Vineyard Reserve 2015
“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. The 2015 vintage is wonderfully evocative with a perfect balance of weight, complexity and freshness.
Medium crimson. Beautiful dark berry, shellac, roasted chestnut, espresso aromas. Smooth velvety wine with superb blackcurrant, dark chocolate, espresso flavours, fine chalky touch al dente tannins, superb mid-plate viscosity and underlying savoury/ earthy notes. Finishes chocolaty firm with plentiful sweet fruit notes and attractive mineral length. A very successful reserva style wine with the hallmark buoyancy and roundness of extended oak aging. 60% cabernet sauvignon, 20% shiraz, 20% cabernet franc. Six months in predominantly (75%) new oak and then extra aging of 15 months in five-year old oak foudre. Aged in bottle for 18 months before release. Drink now – 2035”
97 points
Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
November 2021
