2014 Museum '8R' Merlot

Cold soaked for five days before fermentation on
skins at 18 - 20 Degrees for 7 days. Maturation for 15
months in selected French oak before blending
and bottling.

Good rainfall in winter and early spring got the
season off to a great start. Warm dry conditions
throughout the growing and ripening season then
led to a brilliant 2013 vintage. All reds were picked in
near perfect conditions producing wines with great
flavour and balance. Great vintage

Wrattonbully adjoins the Coonawarra area in the
southern part of the Limestone Coast wine zone.
The prominent viticultural feature of the area is the
series of ancient beach ridges and dunes which run
roughly north-south through the area. These ridges
are made up of soft crumbly limestone which
weathers to produce the red and brown Terra
Rossa clay loam soils so highly prized for grape
growing. The ridges and dunes have elevations of
up to 30m compared with the Coonawarra Terra
Rossa 'high' of less than 5m. The extra elevation on
the Wrattonbully dunes produce the advantage of
cold air drainage which reduces the risk of frost
during the growing season.

AUSTRALIAN WINE COMPANION 2016 - 96

Clone 8R is the best of several promising new
clones recently arrived from France, and resets
the criteria and agenda for the variety with the
precision and intensity of its fruit structure. There are no
wooly/plummy flavours, its sparkling red fruits, firmish
tannins neatly presented on a platter of quality French
oak. its bottle development will be utterly fascinating.