{"product_id":"woodlands-cabernet-sauvignon-xavier-2018-magnum-1500ml","title":"Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon 'Xavier' 2018 Magnum 1500ml","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFounders David Watson and wife Heather had spectacular success with the cabernets he made in ’79 and the early ’80s. Commuting from Perth while raising a family became too much and for some years the grapes from Woodlands were sold to other Margaret River producers. With the advent of sons Stuart and Andrew in ’02–05 (Stuart primarily responsible for winemaking), the estate bounced back to pre-eminence, expanding with the purchase of the 17ha Woodlands Brook Vineyard in ’07. The top-end wines primarily come from the original Woodlands Vineyard, where the now-certified organic vines are 50+yr\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe 2018 vintage is named after Xavier — son of Andrew and Marie, born in May 2018 just as vintage wound up. He's grown into a charming young man with a passion for dinosaurs, tractors and Spider-Man, and a serious appetite for strawberries, blueberries and raspberries — so, like this wine, he's completely full of fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThis Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the original plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc on the vineyard's south-facing slope — sandy loam over gravel and clay. These four small plots see more sunlight than anywhere else on the property, but the east-west row orientation keeps ripening slow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e2018 was close to a perfect Margaret River season and will be remembered as one of the region's greatest. Good early rainfall was followed by near-perfect flowering, then fine weather from mid-December right through to the end of harvest. Woodlands rate their 2018s as the most powerful wines they've made since 2001.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHand-picked between 29 March and 7 April, the fruit was destemmed, hand-sorted, crushed and fermented in small stainless steel fermenters — half of it with no added yeast. After fermentation the Cabernet portions stayed on skins for an average of 21 days before pressing into new French barriques. It was bottled unfiltered on 16 January 2020. The final blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eExtremely dense in colour, intensely purple — much like the Woodlands Malbec. The nose is tightly wound on opening and needs time and air: layers of dark fruit, violet and summer herbs, with white peppercorn, juniper and tight-grain French oak. The palate is all density and power — focused and linear, violet and dark red fruit over a wall of ripe, velvety tannin and French oak, unfolding into more dark fruit, spice and bay leaf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA wine built for the cellar — give it at least 10 years, with the sweet spot between 2030 and 2045.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlands","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46079972966469,"sku":"WES18CSXMAG","price":480.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0727\/8644\/4357\/files\/AW_logo_CMYK-1.png?v=1792560140","url":"https:\/\/artisanwine.com.au\/products\/woodlands-cabernet-sauvignon-xavier-2018-magnum-1500ml","provider":"Artisan Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}