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This is the fifth release of Downer’s Cabernet Franc. The fruit was sourced from Murdoch’s own Oakbank vineyard, with its sandy loam soils which are lightly peppered with quartz. Downer has planted a further 400 vines of Cabernet Franc which will come online from the 2023 vintage.
The vines here are spur pruned and the team practices detailed hand pruning, shoot thinning and bunch thinning to ensure they give Downer the lifted, violet and red-fruited profile he’s chasing for this spicy, sappy, Loire-inspired red. The fruit for the 2022 was hand-picked and 100% destemmed, then racked into mostly older (only 10% new) French barriques, where it rested for 10 months.
High-toned, richly weighted, brilliantly balanced, bright and pure fruited — this is a more than worthy homage to its Loire inspiration. We eagerly anticipate a bigger allocation of this wine, but until then, we suggest you act now; this is never around for long and the 2022 is some of Downer’s finest work.