Dark red with blue/purple hues. Bright, blueberry fruits, hints of brandy, charcuterie, spice, dried herb. Intense red and dark fruits, savoury, dry, textural, rustic. Grown on the De Bortoli King Valley property on the banks of the King River at Moyhu. All fruit crop thinned and hand picked. 2018 was a cool mild growing season. The Iberian varieties thrive on these growing conditions producing deeply scented plump red wine. Varieties vinified separately. Destemmed with 20% whole bunches inclusion to open fermenters. Some submerged cap, the balance hand plunged. 4 months in used French casks. Gravity handled where possible. One of Australia's more dynamic family wine businesses, De Bortoli wines is now in it's third generation, having been first established by Vittorio and Giuseppina De Bortoli in 1928 with the business then driven by their son Deen De Bortoli and now third generation Darren De Bortoli alongside his sister Leanne and her husband, De Bortoli Chief Winemaker Steve Webber. De Bortoli wines has been historically based at Bilbul (near Griffith) in the NSW Riverina, but more recently they have expanded into the Yarra Valley (where Leanne and Steve Webber are based), the Hunter Valley and also into Victoria's King Valley. The emphasis in all of the vineyards has always been upon innovation, with De Bortoli credited with the creation of Australia's most famous dessert wine, the Noble One. The De Bortoli winemaking philosophy is that great wine begins in the vineyard. Their belief is that sustainable vineyard practices will deliver exceptional fruit quality to the winery as well as real environmental benefits. With a focus on careful site selection, vine maturity, high input viticulture and a move towards biological farming principles, De Bortoli Wines are also focusing more and more on single vineyard wines and the expression of specific terroir through their wine. In the winery, minimal interference, allowing the wine to 'make itself' and the mantra it is harder to do nothing encapsulate this focus and belief. With an enormous range of wines and labels, it is constantly impressive how consistent (and good value) the De Bortoli wines are. This comes from a simple respect for varietal purity, with Steve Webber renowned for his desire to see varietal expression in the De Bortoli wines. The real secret to the quality of the De Bortoli wines though is simply the winemaking talent. Beyond head honcho Steve Webber the team includes veteran Rob Glastonbury, award winning young winemaker Sarah Fagan and long time Noble One guru Julie Mortlock, all combining to headup one very able winemaking unit."