Vineyard

The grapes for our infamous BMIT are normally sourced from the gravelly mid-slopes of the original 1983 Blend Block planting at Bloodwood. Our Malbec, which comes from an obscure, degraded mustachioed Barista clone of French origin, fruits only moderately. Even though the vineyard is trellised to a modified Scott Henry design and the soils are well drained and friable enough, yields, (unlike the wines), are never flash. (N.B. The Bloodwood Malbec Barista clone is so named because it may always be hairy up front, but it is clean-as clean down below.) Why do they do that??? (N.N.B.B. Because we are re-working the trunks of the Malbec and Cabernet Franc vineyard to get ahead of the usual degenerative trunk diseases, of the paucity of Malbec fruit in vintage 2024, meant we took the decision to use some of our Cabernet Sauvignon for the 2024 version of the BMIT)

Vintage Conditions

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

Vintage 2024 is looking better as the months go by. The winter rainfall leading up to the growing season was well below average and along with warmer temperatures, the early growing season was a challenge which we managed with pre-budburst irrigation and good Bloodwood Lawn Mooer weed control. The growing season itself was a warm one with weather up to and including harvest best described as warm and dry with some useful bursts of almost tropical rain in thunderstorms. Warmer than normal nights brought vintage forward to equal the earliest start recorded in vintage 2016. White and red yields were moderate across most varieties although the dry meant Cabernet juice yields were about 30 % down on historical averages. All the whites show remarkable pH/acid balance and generous fruit for such a warm year and the reds picked at moderate alcohols are also full of promise. Outstanding Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz are early highlights in what is likely the best vintage since the spectacular 2019.

Winemaking

This particular iteration of the Bloodwood BMIT saw the usual whole bunch pressing of what we could salvage from the Malbec and Cabernet Franc vineyard supplemented by some of our SA 125 Cabernet Sauvignon followed by a gentle fermentation to technical dryness. The wine was made along traditional white wine making lines. Following a post ferment clean-up, we allowed around six months fine lees contact to help integrate the palate and allow for a natural Orange winter cold stabilization. After protein stabilisation it was sterile filtered and bottled in late October 2024.

pH 3.22

Acidity 7.56 g/l

Alc/Vol 12.5.0%

Tasting Notes

About as pink as any populist politicians blood transfusion, this very very not weird wonder of the wine making world here at Bloodwood is a celebration of the freedom to bare our arms and whole bunch press what the fruit we like. Unlike fake brews, this peculiar pressing cycle has been liberated from the noble Cabernet Sauvignon which, religiously, is free from unreasonable extraction or cruel and unusual punishment of the fruit following apprehension. A phantasmal drinking experience for childless cat ladies, we recommend you chill it out, relax on your couch and don’t let self-incrimination come between you and your BMIT..that would be just plain weird. Al/Vol 12.6%lug.