It is a massive truism, but really, every vintage is different. Vintage 2012 was condensed into about 8 weeks from go to whoa which meant we had finished crushing all grapes by the end of March. Generally this feat would only be accomplished by the middle to end of April. Yields across all varieties were considerably down on average (from 15-40% in some varieties), but quality is looking very promising for both reds and whites. We had cool conditions up until the end of February then some rain, which did not affect things too much (see vintage 2011)as the whites were already picked and safely in the winery, and reds were unaffected. Joch’s prediction, with further checks on wine in barrel and subsequent contemplation is that 2012 will be a great red wine year.

There is never any suggestion of re-creating the wheel here at BoB when it comes to making our red wines. It’s pretty simple and old-fashioned stuff. We harvest when the grapes are flavour and sugar ripe and then we crush the grapes. We use open fermenters, and once the wine has gone through primary fermentation, we mature it in a mixture of old and new French and the odd American barrel. We also add a small component of vine dried Cabernet to the blend just prior to bottling, which is something we have done from the very start of our winemaking endeavours.

• Halliday Wine Companion

  It's partly the organic viticulture, partly the vintage, partly the long-established synergy between the region and the variety, and partly the good winemaking that have jointly given birth to this medium-bodied, expressive wine that sews together cassis, black olive, dark chocolate and ripe tannins.

  93 Points 

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