Freeman Cabernet Sauvignon Altura Vineyard 2022

Freeman Vineyards is located in the Hilltops region of New South Wales. This specialist family wine company was established in 1999 by Dr Brian Freeman, previously professor of Wine Science at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. The 175-hectare estate comprises several elevated vineyard blocks located within a radius of 10 kilometres on a 560-meter ridge. This high and cool location and the well-structured free-draining decomposed granite soils have proven ideally suited to viticulture.

One variety that is synonymous with the cool Hilltops terroir is cabernet sauvignon – the classic Australian variety that thrives in a continental climate where warm days and cool nights are integral to cultivating balance and complexity. The Altura Vineyard encompasses a block of mature 40-year-old cabernet vines. Selected bunches are handpicked with a yield of four tonnes per hectare.

The 2022 season was marked by a cool spring and summer with unseasonal rainfall but thankfully autumn was sunny and dry and the grapes ripened slowly and evenly, ideal for the final development of the fully ripe bunches. The grapes were harvested in early April with good acidity and balance.