The story of our cool climate cabernet

We almost pulled out over 1000 cabernet vines that were carefully and lovingly planted 50+ years ago, in 1972.

I’m so glad we didn’t.

We were advised by many: pull them out; graft over them; replant pinot noir or chardonnay. It’s solid advice, as the prevailing wisdom suggests you probably wouldn’t plant cabernet sauvignon in the Macedon Ranges if you were starting again.

This is cool climate wine growing country. It’s not Margaret River or Coonawara, both regions with abundant sunshine, warm evenings and reliable ripening. Both places are famous for cabernet in Australia. And we love cabernet from these places (check out some of Sue Bell’s wine from Bellwether winery in Coonawarra, for example).

In contrast to these regions (and of course Bordeaux, the famous region home to cabernet), the Macedon Ranges often drops below 15 degrees celsius at night during ripening, and ripening takes nail biting patience. Whilst most of Australia is putting the last of their wine into barrels after the wine making season, the vignerons of the Macedon Ranges are anxiously waiting for the sugar levels, acidity and taste in their grapes to reach their desired levels on the vine.

We haven’t even picked the fruit yet, let alone started fermentation or racked the wine into barrels. That is still months away for us.

This is fantastic for a varietal like pinot noir, that flourishes in variable diurnal temperature patterns (hot days, cool nights, for example), that enables character and complexity in the wine. It’s why the Macedon Ranges is famous for its pinot noir, with some of the best wines and winemakers in the country producing here. We love our Zig Zag Rd. pinot noir, and so do our customers (it sells out in 2 months). Likewise, our riesling is beautifully suited to this climate (think Alsace in France – cool climate, altitude).

But cabernet sauvignon?

Like I say, we almost pulled them out. Our fingers were on the trigger, and even ordered replacement vines of pinot noir. We communicated to some of our closest supporters that 2019 would be the last vintage of cabernet, and outlined our rationale. It was going to happen.

But then two things happened, which has shifted our thinking.

The first is our growing confidence in wine. As our palettes develop, together with our vernacular and deeper understanding, we have started to appreciate what this little block of fruit (and the wine it produces) is doing. The bunches of fruit are full of character. Delicious. Interesting. Even in the cooler years of the cool climate region, the fruit develops balance: acid, sugar, falavour. The seeds taste good, the phenolics in the skins are interesting, the juice full of flavour.

And when we go back to the bottles of cabernet we produced from the block, particularly the 2019 vintage, we realise: we love this wine.

It has structure, depth of flavour, complexity. Sure, the tannins aren’t as rich and bold as some of the classic Australian cabernets, but we love this fact. They are delicate, subtle and elegant. The dark fruits you’d expect in a cabernet are there, but they’re complimented by a freshness that gives the wine character. A mouth feel that is Macedon Ranges rather than Margaret River.

The point I’m making is that we realise we love the cabernet this vineyard produces.

The second thing that has shifted our thinking, is discovering other cool climate cabernets made by winemakers we think make wonderful, interesting wine.

Brendan at Musk Lane, for example, produces a wonderful cabernet sauvignon from a vineyard just down the road. Delicate and elegant, deep yet fresh. His wines are always beautifully presented and put together, and producing beautiful cabernet wines that are in the 12% alcohol range (cabernet in Australia is more often in the 14 or 15% range – big and bold). He has, on more than one occasion, encouraged us to celebrate our Macedon Ranges cabernet, and reassured us that the wine will be good. He is right.

Likewise, we discovered that another superstar in the region, Josh Cooper, is crazy on cool climate cabernet sauvignon. We love his wines, as do many people. When I said to Josh one summer evening that we are thinking of pulling up our vines, his eyes widened in alarm, and he strongly encouraged us not to do it. I could tell he thought that pulling out 50 year old cabernet sauvignon vines in the Macedon Ranges would be a tragedy.

And so, because of these two reasons, I’m happy to say: the vines will stay.

We will continue to love and cherish these 50+ year old fruit trees, and continue to make unique and wonderful cool climate cabernet sauvignon.

These vines, we have learnt, on their old and original rootstock, established in their cool climate context, produce exceptional fruit that makes unique and interesting wine that has length, complexity and elegance.

You will see us celebrating our cabernet from here on in. We will proudly showcase our cabernet that is as low as 11% alcohol, and sing from the rooftops about its Macedon Ranges credentials. We’ll present the wine for awards and to sommeliers. We’ll put it alongside our 50 year old vine syrah and pinot noir.

And we will take care of that little cabernet block just outside our cellar door at the Zig Zag Rd. vineyard.

If you want to try our cool climate cabernet for yourself, we’ve just released our 2022 vintage. This is a great example of what this fruit does in the cooler years. It’s 11.5% alcohol, yet has a richness and ripeness of a cabernet showing off its plum and dark berries, but a structure that is lean, delicate and fresh.

We think, if you haven’t guessed, that it’s awesome.