Happy International Cabernet Sauvignon Day!
The second of September is an international day of celebration in honour of the iconic, Cabernet Sauvignon. And yes, you do need to celebrate.
Whether you call it Cabernet, Cab or Cab Sauv, you can’t go wrong with a classic cabernet sauvignon. Rich in intensity and flavour, it’s no wonder that it’s one of the most popular wine varieties around the world.
The region of Coonawarra produces spectacular Cabernet Sauvignon fruit as it rests on a unique cigar shaped strip of rich terra rossa soil, stretching just 27 kilometres. This one of a kind, narrow ridge of earth is the product of over a million years’ worth of Mother Nature’s work. Slow melting of ice caps, seabeds forming into limestone and strong blowing winds has created Coonawarra’s famous soil and the perfect environment for Cabernet Sauvignon fruit.
With wine, anything from the soil, to the climate, to the winemaking technique will impact how the final product looks, smells and tastes. This is why Brand’s Laira’s distinctive strip of rich, terra rossa soil, in combination with a climate consisting of warm days and cool nights creates one of a kind, sensational Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
Plus, our winemakers are experts when it comes to the winemaking process. In 2018, Brand’s Laira enlisted the help from a state of the art optical grape sorter. It provides a less time consuming system and is around ten percent more efficient in picking up on contaminated grapes.
Chief Winemaker, Peter Weinberg said ‘It efficiently sorts and disposes of the unusable berries’ by screening the berries under a high speed camera. It then uses a unique conveying system with around 100 air jets to blow the bad fruit off the belt, ensuring they are not used. Overall, this creates a more consistent, high quality wine.
So, with the second of September just around the corner, make sure you are prepared!
Brands Laira offers a range of unparalleled Cabernet Sauvignon’s that are waiting patiently to be opened:
2015 Blockers Cabernet Sauvignon
The name ‘Blockers’ is in honour of one of the original landholders in the Coonawarra region, Eric Brand. The Blockers has a true connection to its origin, not only in name, but in style as well. This Cabernet Sauvignon has been aged in new and old French and American oak barrels to complete fermentation.
Perfect for all occasions (including Cabernet Sauvignon Day!) due to its combination of rich fruit, complexity and elegance. The wine is a gorgeous deep crimson red, with classic aromas of mulberry and subtle spicy cedar. It presents a long and persistent finish, with lingering fruit flavours in true Coonawarra style.
2016 1968 Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
This Cabernet Sauvignon is made with fruit from the oldest block of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, planted in 1968 on the Laira vineyard. This sensational wine presents notes of plum, cherry and subtle vanillin oak.
The fruit was handpicked and fermented in a small oat vat and puncheon barrels. It is a medium bodied wine, with an elegant structure yet silky finish.
2013 One Seven One Cabernet Sauvignon
The One Seven One Cabernet Sauvignon has been crafted as a classic Coonawarra red wine. It is by combination of fruit from established, old vines and top quality French oak for maturation that a perfectly balanced wine has materialized. The fruit for this Flagship 171 wine is sourced from vines planted in 1971, on famous Terra Rossa soil, perect for Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wine shows off a bright, crimson red, matched with pure and intense fruit flavours and a powerful palate structure. It demonstrates aromas of deep blood plum, mulberry and toasty cedar oak thanks to excellent fruit concentration and fine tannin structures.
Purchase here, and celebrate International Cabernet Sauvignon Day the right way!