Description
The many hidden secrets of the Clare Valley is Cabernet Sauvignon. The climate of the Clare Valley allows for long slow ripening conditions with dry warm to hot conditions through to April. This allows the later ripening varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon to gain full ripeness and to develop lovely black fruit notes and mid palate complexity. These conditions are perfect for our Samuel Block Cabernet fruit which is sourced from a small 2.3 ac dry grown vineyard in the Armagh area of the Clare Valley. The vineyard has a unique personality that produces lovely cabernet fruit with overt black fruit flavours of black currant and black cherry notes.
Fermented in 4 ton open fermenters and with pump overs to help develop colour and extraction from skins while keeping the cap moist. Left on skins for 9-11days and then the skins are drained through a basket press with out pressing to reduce seed tannin bitterness. The wine is pumped into tank to go through malo fermentation and then the wine is racked off and then stored in old and new French oak barrels for 20 months.
Aged in 40% new and 60% old French Oak barrels for 20 months.
Intense dark fruit profile of blackberry, black cherry, cassis, spice and chocolate on the palate with a soft lingering tannin to finish.
Food Match: Slow cooked Lamb Shoulder
CELLARING: Drink Now or Cellar 5-10+yrs
Released Sep 10th 2025 – Only 190 dozen produced
pH – 3.31
TA – 6.92
Alc – 14.6%
This vineyard is dry grown and has suffered from the very dry conditions in 2018 and 2019 and we only produced 1 ton of fruit in those years. Those small parcels of wine showed amazing depth and intensity and were reserved for our JRS Barrel Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 & 2019 where aged for 2 years in 100% new French oak. In 2020 all the fruit was lost to frost in October 2019 and no wine was produced in that year. 2021 Vintage was excellent with over 2 ton picked and was one of the standout varieties of 2021 and is now sold out. The 2022 Cabernet is another stand out vintage from this vineyard and again showed beautiful fruit and elegance and was a wine that won medals in all the shows it was entered. The 2023 was an interesting vintage and almost what you would call a back to front vintage with conditions in the first half fairly cool and wet up until February and then temperatures began to be warm up which really benefited the later ripening varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon.
The SA Wine Guide – 94pts
2022 Vintage Award
The SA Wine Guide – 94pts
BRONZE Medal – Halliday Cabernet Challenge 2023
BRONZE Medal – Adelaide Wine Show 2023
SILVER Medal – Clare Regional Wine Show 2023 (equal top in class)
SILVER Medal – Australia Small Winemakers Show 2023
HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION 2020
Samuel Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 – Hand-picked, destemmed, 12 days on skins, lightly basket-pressed, matured in French oak (20% new), 210 dozen made. Continues the style and quality of the ’17 Sussex Squire wines, cassis in abundance, rare in the Clare Valley and closer to cool-grown cabernet. A striking wine in the context of the Clare Valley. Halliday – 94pts (James Halliday)
Drink by 2032
Previous Vintages
2016 Samuel Block Cabernet Sauvignon – Double Trophy – Best Dry Red Wine – Clare Wine Show 2017 & Best Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
Hand-picked, destemmed, 12 days on skins, lightly basket-pressed, matured in French oak (20% new), 210 dozen made. Continues the style and quality of the ’17 Sussex Squire wines, cassis in abundance, rare in the Clare Valley and closer to cool-grown cabernet. A striking wine in the context of the Clare Valley.
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