First Drop
Matt ‘Gantos’ Gant and John ‘JR’ Retsas are two mates with a lifelong commitment to making kick-arse booze. These are wines with flavour, texture and a splash of funk, made with the best fruit from unique patches of the Barossa, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale.
This well balanced expression of McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon is an ode to the
‘luncheon claret’, but it’s not as green and austere as the favourite lunchtime libation at the
gentleman’s club. The fruit is from 2 vineyards with good breeding in the foothills and the
resulting wine has been made in a fruit driven style this vintage. It has classic First Drop
drinkability, so bottoms up!
Co l o u r
Dark plum
B o u q u e t
Cassis and plum fruit flavours with hints of eucalypt and florals
Pa l a t e
Black fruits with a round mid palate, an elegant core of tannins and a textured finish
Gr u b M a t c h
Marrow on toast, roasted quail or partridge
Ce l l a r i n g
Drink up, but also a 10-15 year proposition
V i n t a g e
Following a ‘champagne’ vintage like 2012, it was always going to be a hangover year. Low
winter and spring rainfall led to variable vine growth. Soil moisture monitoring and irrigation
proved to be vital in one of the driest seasons on record. The dry conditions led to a poor fruit set, and a heat spell in early February brought on vintage quickly. There was no time for hangovers now, as the excitement of harvest kicked in. With most of the action over by the end of March, it was clear to see that the dry season and low yields had produced some
exuberant wines reminiscent of 2008. 2013 was a fun and frantic vintage producing equally
exciting wines!
V i n e y a r d
Joch’s vineyard is in the Willunga foothills in the south of the McLaren Vale - 130m above sea level on deep alluvial stony clay loam.
Melissa’s vineyard is to the east of McLaren Flat in the east of McLaren Vale – 145m
above sea level on clay over sandstone.
V i n i f i c a t i o n
The fruit is crushed/destemed and fermented at temperatures ranging from 20- 25°C for 10 days on skins. The ferment is managed by a variety of techniques, including ‘aerative pump overs’ and ‘drain and returns’ which assist in extracting colour, flavour and tannin from the grapes. At the end of fermentation, it is drained/pressed, and transferred to 10% new French oak hogsheads, and the balance to 3 and 4 year old French oak hogsheads to undergo MLF. Post MLF, sulphur dioxide is added, and the wines mature sur lie for 15 months. This wine was bottled in May 2014.
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