Region: Yarra Valley

Appearance: Dense red with rich purple hues

Bouquet: Intense concentrated blackberry fruit with cedary oak

Palate: Full ripe fruit flavours with complex oak, rich soft tannins and a concentrated palate finishing with exceptional length and richness

Suggested Cuisine: Serve with roast rib or fillet of beef

General Characteristics: Dry/Medium bodied

Alcohol: 13.5%

Cellaring: Under good cellaring conditions 8 - 10 years

Winemaker: Steve Webber

Tasting Notes: Made in the traditional Claret style, Melba pays tribute to renowned opera diva, Dame Nellie Melba, who for many years resided in the Yarra Valley. Classic style, fine but concentrated, extremely age worthy.

The 1998 Melba was made from the best parcels of Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. A hot dry season resulted in low cropping levels with an average of 2.2 tonnes to the acre. Each parcel of fruit brought into the winery was fermented separately and the exceptional parcels were run off at the end of fermentation into new oak barriques. Because of the lower cropping levels, the fruit was more concentrated in flavour with full bodied structure and richness allowing the wine to be matured for 22 months in new French oak barriques prior to bottling in March 2000.