Patience is a virtue, and with wine highly rewarding. This is certainly true of the Bin88 Grand Reserve. Endearing trust and tradition, the grapes for this wine were harvested primarily from a single vineyard planted over 160 years ago. This multi-generational commitment now allows us to produce a truly spectacular wine, that is truly reflective of the Clare Valley.

With low winter rainfall and a warm start to spring, the 2018 season was keenly anticipated after the harsh conditions of the prior season. The warm weather saw bud burst occurring a couple of weeks prior to previous years and continued into the new year with a welcomed few days of rain in mid-January to revitalize vines. These ideal conditions saw the fruit fully ripen with in one of the lowest environmental stress years for quite some time.

Handpicked at first light, the fruit was brought to the winery and loaded into a small traditional vat. The bunches were lightly pressed to split the grapes without maceration. Allowed to start fermenting naturally, the grapes were hand plunged twice daily for 10 days. After fermentation, the vat was poured into a traditional basket press and allowed to drain. The grapes were then lightly pressed with only the finest cut being separated off. Allowed to undergo malolactic in a selected combination of French oak, the wine was left on its malo lees for 9 months.

Dark and rich in colour, the complexing layered aromas slowly lift from the glass giving floral, dark berries and dried herbal notes with licks of chocolate. This rich aroma is mimicked on the palate with a range of flavours of blackcurrant, chocolate, black tea and olive tapenade.

The intensity and complex flavours of this wine stem from the small berries that were taken from vines of such age. A traditionally made wine, it has naturally developed this intensity and while complete now, will develop gracefully over the next 10 years.