2022 West Australian Wine Guide

Cherubino sources this from a mature Pemberton vineyard which produces excellent savvy, especially in years like this. Gorgeous scented notes of lemony oak and a gooseberry, passionfruit combination. It’s had about four months in oak, which contributes to the aromas and adds so much interest to the palate. The weighting of the oak is perfect. A crisp, minerally acidity completes an excellent example of this fume style.

 

The fruit comes from Wilyabrup and the cooler Karridale to the south. Lightly toasty with savoury, minerally citrus notes on the nose. There’s a faint hint of struck match adding to the aromatic complexity. Has a linear, precise mouthfeel with the savoury characters emerging. Deeply intense with the potential to develop further. Excellent wine.

 

Gosh, this is a good red wine. It comes from the Riversdale vineyard in Frankland, with a range of different clones of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec. It’s already so rich and concentrated with so much crammed into its frame of chalky tannins and fine grained oak. Dark fruits and chocolate with a slightly leafy overlay on the nose. The palate is a powerhouse of structure and poise. It will handle extended cellaring but around 10 years would be spot on.

 

It’s an interesting combination and it works so wonderfully well. This comes from the Riversdale Vineyard in Frankland River. Cherubino has made this to highlight the seductive and beautiful fruit characters, with maturation only in one and two-year-old oak. Dark fruits with a mix of plum and blackcurrant lifted with a little rose petal aromatic. Has a brilliant energy and vibrancy.

 

Okay, for the clone geeks, I’ll highlight clones 174, 470 and Waldron, which Cherubino has been championing in the Riversdale Vineyard. And they have quite an impact. It’s wine of great intensity and fruit concentration, yet there is an effortless poise and refinement that makes it so appealing. Chalky tannins and deep, plummy mulberry fruit merge seamlessly. It’s a wine of structure and character with tremendous ageing potential.

 

This is cabernet and it has not seen new oak. You might be surprised, yet when you taste it you’ll realise it doesn't need it. Cherubino has used different clones, which after hand picking were matured in one and two-year-old oak for 12 months. It shows the beautiful elegance and charm of Frankland cabernet with that chalky black fruit thing working with a subtle leafiness. Finishes with such poise and elegance.