Patriarch is sourced off a two hectare block planted in 1994, grown to sandy acidic soils over quartz bed rock. There's little water holding capacity and the vines fight for their moisture, encouraging yields of the most intensely flavoured berries. Grapes are all selectively hand sorted and vinified for a fortnight before an extended term of five weeks maceration, before being filled to the luxury of completely new French oak barriques for two years. A velvety smooth wine of refined tannin structure, intense dark fruit characters and the majesty of new oak.
