News and Events

01 October 2004

Triumph for a Foxy Cabernet

The ability of Fox Creek Wines to produce more than just great McLaren Vale Shiraz is demonstrated with the release of their 2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon just days before it was awarded a Gold Medal at the prestigious Royal Adelaide Wine Show.

Tony Walker, Fox Creek winemaker was thrilled with the award and said, “The Adelaide Show is one of the toughest of the national circuit with 2922 entries from 386 Australian wineries, so it really is a great achievement to have won one of the five Gold Medals awarded to Cabernet in the Show.”

“And as Cabernet Sauvignon in McLaren Vale has been largely overshadowed in recent years by the hugely successful Shiraz grape this award demonstrates that world class wines can be made from this variety in McLaren Vale” continued Tony.

The 2002 vintage in McLaren Vale produced intense, rich fruit that Fox Creek believe will mature into extremely elegant and memorable wines. Tony Walker said, “Some of the Cabernet fruit was “mind blowing”. It had the depth of flavour that we expect from McLaren Vale but the aromatics that were more like Coonawarra Cabernet.”

The 2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a vibrant, deep red/ black wine with an intense violet rim. It exhibits powerful lifted fruit aromas of cassis, tobacco leaf and subtle oak. The palate is intense with fresh blackberry, cinnamon and liquorice flavours. This full bodied wine has a fabulous tannin structure and balance and will age well for up to 10 years. It is recommended that the wine be decanted for at least an hour prior to drinking.

Along with their award winning Cabernet, this month Fox Creek is also releasing the 2004 Sauvignon Blanc, their best selling white wine, and the 2002 'Duet' Cabernet Merlot.

The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc, Fox Creek’s most popular white wine, shows amazing flavour concentration and complexity. The fruit was purposefully picked late to capture more tropical fruit flavours and enrich the mid palate weight. It is a wonderful crisp and clean Sauvignon Blanc with a seamless palate showing passionfruit and gooseberry flavours. It has pleasant acid, with hints of lime and a clean finish. While Sauvignon Blanc can develop and age well this wine is made to be enjoyed relatively young and is best drunk in the first two years from vintage.

The 2002 'Duet' Cabernet Merlot, is a blend of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 percent Merlot and 5 percent Cabernet Franc. It is a deep plum coloured wine with soft juicy cassis berry flavours that are rich on entry and develop to a luscious intensity on the mid-palate. The Merlot component softens the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cabernet Franc was added to lift the aromatics and mid palate. The finish has a soft tannin grip and supporting acidity. This wine can be enjoyed now or, alternatively, cellared for up to at least five years.

Fox Creek wines are widely available through major liquor stores. The recommended retail prices are:

2004 Sauvignon Blan - $16
2002 ‘Duet’ Cabernet Merlot - $19
2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - $36