Vineyard

Bloodwood Maurice is a cellar style of wine which represents, for us, the best few barrels from the best few vintages in terms of quality and longevity here at Bloodwood. Ipso facto, (I’ve always wanted to say that when talking about wine) only a very few vintages are good enough for a release of a Bloodwood "Maurice". We have to find around six hogsheads (1800 litres) of red wine which we consider to be of high enough quality and interest to qualify. There is no strict varietal mix from year to year, but lately it has been blended around Cabernet Sauvignon and its cousins Franc, Malbec and Merlot Noir. (Having said that, the 1998 Maurice, which was entirely Merlot Noir, won high praise from Jancis Robinson.) Over the last fifteen vintages we have only released Maurice from four of them. The 2019 example is amongst the best.

Vintage Conditions

The Weather At Bloodwood is always the same; It's Different!

Winter and Spring Rainfall for the growing season leading up to vintage 2019 were around the median with 149 mm for the months of June, July and August and 208 mm for the calendar spring months. There was no run-off into irrigation storages and the long-term drying trend continues. After record heat in January 2019, the run-up to and through harvest was extraordinarily dry and stable. Between 1/2/2019 and 17/3/2019 we only recorded 3.8 mm of rain with temperatures 0.9C warmer than the same period for 2018.

Quality of each vintage is often determined by the stability of the ripening months, so 2019 holds above average promise for us here at Bloodwood even though yields were well down around 30% on a normal year. This is closely related to the continuing and intensifying drought we are all suffering and we give thanks for our limited access to irrigation.

It is interesting that pH and acid levels were all over the shop. Some wines analysed with higher than normal pH levels and lower than usual total acidities if moisture during ripening was an issue. Fermentation, particularly for reds was generally short and sharp without effective temperature control. Early indications are that reds are more than good. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz and Pinot Noir are all good. Chardonnay quality is a bit patchy because of the extreme heat and dryness although Riesling seems to have coped pretty well with the warmth. Winemaking skill in vintage 2019 was more important than usual.

Winemaking

As I’ve outlined elsewhere, we believe in macro oxygenation during the early fermentation process after extended cold soaking on skins here at Bloodwood. And this wine is no exception. After hand selection and picking, the home SA125 Cabernet vineyard fruit was hand plunged with plenty of air in an open fermenter, as was a co-ferment of the best fruit from our Cabernet Franc, Merlot Noir and Malbec vineyard. As usual, a high proportion of whole berries are a constant in all our red ferments, and regular oxygenation during primary ferment bring the tannins into shape early in the wine making process. After malo-lactic conversion by the spring of 2019, the new wine spent 24 months in a mix of very high quality 75% new and the balance older French oak immersion bent hogsheads before sterile filtration and bottling in September 2021.

Tasting Notes

Bruised dark scarlet in colour, the invitingly ripe black fruited potpourri bouquet eases through a fruit dense palate of ripe dark chocolate and vanillin char. Those same black fruits suffuse a long-textured, well balanced fleshy palate framed in fluent, very finely integrated French oak tannins. Gentle medium term cellaring will only add to your enjoyment of this fine wine.

Al/Vol 13.4%

Wine Analysis

pH 3.6

Acidity 6.0 g/l

Alc/Vol 13.4%