2022 La Ferme de Sato Sous Bois
Sato, Central Otago, New Zealand
- Cabernet Franc from La Ferme de Sato, on loess over schist.
- Destemmed, 26 days on skins, 17 months in neutral French oak.
- Blackberry, herbs and forest floor, linear and savoury.
- Vineyard
- La Ferme de Sato, Pisa
- Soil
- Sandy loam at the top of the block, deep loess below, over schist and quartz gravel
- Clones
- 214 and 327
- Grape
- 100% Cabernet Franc
- Alcohol
- 13.9%
Winemaking
Destemmed into a small open fermenter with no additions. Eight days of cold soak, then 18 days of wild ferment on skins: 26 days in all. Basket pressed, then 17 months in neutral French oak with full natural malolactic. Hand bottled at the winery without fining or filtration.
Tasting Notes
Blackberry with fresh herbs and cut grass, and a forest-floor savouriness of bark and mushroom that gives the wine its name. Medium bodied and linear, with fine, lightly chewy tannins and good tension. Savoury and long; drinks well now and will hold.
Distributed in Australia by Principal Wine.