Islander Estate

2004 The Islander PINK PENGUIN

Technical details

Variety: Blend of : Grenache, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc

Production: This wine was made from the first free-run juice extracted from the berries after crushing and a short period of skin contact to allow for color extraction. It was settled overnight with the addition of pectolytic enzymes to aid juice clarification. The clear juice was racked after 24 hours and fermentation initiated through the addition of cultured yeast CY3079. The fermentation was maintained at 15-17 degrees to help maintain fresh fruit characters and aromas. Post fermentation 3 months’ ageing on lees The wine has undergone bentonite fining and filtration prior to bottling. Sealed under stelvin capsule to retain maximum freshness.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Cherry / ruby red in color with pink hues.

Nose: Rich full complex red fruit nose with hints of floral.

Palate: Ripe and full in the mouth, the wine shows ripe sweet red fruit berry on the middle palate, glyceric and fat nicely balanced with acidity. Good juicy and quite dry finish. A complex Rosé style, rich and savory with very low residual sugar.

2005 The Islander WALLY WHITE SEMILLON VIOGNIER

Technical details

Variety: Blend of : Semillon (95%) Viognier (5%).

Wine Analysis: Alcohol : 13.5% Vol.Total Acidity : 6.0g/LPh

Production: Semillon being a very vigorous variety it took three years to slow the vines down. Our soil at the Islander is very poor and although we were able to easily manage the water stress, we needed to establish the trellis of the vines so that the grapes had perfect exposure to the sun. Before we were able to achieve this it was difficult to produce good concentrated grapes. The Viognier presented the opposite situation to the Semillon, in that the vines took a long time to establish and remained weak initially with low yields, enhancing the quality. All grapes are picked by hand; then sorted on our tables before being whole bunch pressed in our basket press. No pressing separation is made as the press is very gentle and after a short settling, the turbid juice is fermented in 600 litre oak cask. Both varieties remained separate in cask for a year and underwent batonnage every week for the first 4 months of ageing. After blending, the wine is fined with bentonite and then lightly filtered before bottling. This style of wine requires at least 2 to3 months bottle ageing before consumption.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Semi pale straw with a green hue.

Nose: Delicate nose with hints of spice and floral flavours mixed with wood aromas.

Palate: Mineral fresh mouth feel, medium bodied, light fat, the wood taste is present, which balances perfectly with the slight fatty, muscaty character of the Viognier. Clean crisp acidity and flavours.

Food:  Made to be drunk at a cool temperature, served on its own or with some spicy food or light meat.

2004 The Islander MAJESTIC PLOUGH MALBEC

Technical details

Variety: 100%Malbec

Wine Analysis: Alcohol : 14.5% Vol.Total Acidity : 5.7g/LPh

Production: Malbec is quite a vigorous variety to grow, but never yields too much fruit as the set is difficult and we end up with “hen and chicken”. The berries are large but the bunch is loose allowing good air penetration. Water stress tends to cause the bottom leaves to fall off easily, leaving the grapes well exposed to sun. Malbec is the first red variety harvested at IEV each year. The grape is sensitive to heat and tends to shrivel if left on the vine past maturity. All grapes are picked by hand; then sorted on our tables. The selected berries are sent to the tank with a very light crushing and are cold macerated for a few days before fermentation. Then the fermentation starts with cultured yeast and during the process the berries are plunged softly every day to allow delicate extraction. Malbec skin is very tender and breaks easily during fermentation to impart its entire character to the juice. Therefore there is no need to push the extraction too much and may in fact be detrimental, as undesirable phenolics could result.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Black, dark red to purple colour.

Nose: Intense nose lifted by the semi-high level of alcohol. Warm, toasted Chinese tea, vanilla from the oak, fresh milk and spices like cinnamon.

Palate: A big wine with a fat mouth fill, but an especially good tannic. Very structured and spicy.

2004 The Islander YAKKA JACK CABERNET FRANC SANGIOVESE

Technical details

Variety: Blend of : Cabernet Franc (73%) Sangiovese (27%)

Wine Analysis: Alcohol : 14.5% Vol.Total Acidity : 5.3g/LPh

Production: Cabernet Franc is a very easy variety to produce; it is resistant to most diseases and to drought. It produces a great many canes and gives plenty of options for pruning and canopy management. The bunches are small with very small berries resulting in very colourful and tannic wines. The Sangiovese is more delicate, very sensitive to water stress and produces less canes, but is quite vigorous. The grapes are large and tight with very dark skin, but the wine doesn’t carry so much colour. The tannins are very firm in the young wine and then softens considerably during barrel ageing. The cabernet is picked before the Sangiovese in general.production. All grapes are picked by hand and all berries sorted on vibrating tables. The berries macerate together for a week before the cultured yeast inoculation. Cabernet needs soft pumping overs to not over extract the tanins. Sangiovese, on the other hand, can be aggressively extracted as skins are not very tannic and colour doesn’t come easily. The wines are aged in large wood vats “foudres” for two years to reduce the loss of fruit in these two varieties, which are sensitive to oxygen.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Brick-red

Nose: Ripe to cooked fruit and jam with layers of earthy/wet forest floor, bracken and violets, hints of red fruits with a toasty oak finish.

Palate: The body is medium with a pervading sense of sweet tannins. Jam and some tar leading into wet forest floor and a finish of discrete oaky flavours. A very elegant wine that leads from a soft front palate down through to a firm, ripe tannic grip.

2003 The Islander BARK HUT ROAD

Technical details

Variety: Blend of : Cabernet (68%) Shiraz (27%) Viognier (5%).

Production: Each of the blend components were fermented separately, with the exception of the Shiraz and Viognier which we co-fermented. Treatments varied slightly from tank to tank but the core processes were as follows: Cold maceration for 3-4 days at 10-12°C. Warmed to 18 degrees and inoculated with selected yeast strain. Fermentation 15-18 days at 27-30 degrees. Fermentation regime consisted of 2-3 pump overs per day plus manual plunging of the cap. Skin contact for 10-12 days. Pressed and returned to tank. Malolactic fermentation in tank. Put to barrel, wines aged in all new French oak of 225L (Barriques) and 600L (Demi Muid).

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep blood red colour, appealing and fresh.

Nose: Vanilla and coconut, chocolate, spice, pepper, apricot and slight menthol. Complex and subtle the ripe berry fruit flavours marry with spice and vanilla from oak.

Palate: Soft texture, round, medium body, flows through the mouth until the fine tannins come to a sharp edge. Nice acidity, firm structure, with sweet tannins. Oak flavours combined with spices and vanilla develops again in the back palate. The wine is elegant, low alcohol, classic style, soft and firm at the same time.