2022 Bleasdale Frank Potts Cabernet Blend

Mid weighted with ample richness, a sturdy structure and elegant conclusion.

The founder, the highly inventive, industrious and resourceful Frank Potts (1815 - 1890), to whom this wine is dedicated, was a 19th century genius, and a pioneer who has been described as being “made of the right stuff and well worthy of the grand old land that gave him birth.” He arrived in Australia as a 21 year old, having set sail from Plymouth England, and landing late in 1836. By the 1860’s, he had planted the original 30 acres of vineyard on the banks of the Bremmer Creek. Potts was highly admired - “One meets with extraordinary characters through life, but I doubt whether his equal could be found. In appearance a stranger would take him to be a poor labourer, with a thin, spare figure and long unkempt hair and invariably wearing his shirt sleeves tucked up. Although a most uncouth-looking person, and yet this man is a perfect genius! There is not a single thing mechanical or otherwise undertaken by him which he does not succeed in...” So remarked Inspector Tolmer, who was later to become Commissioner of Police, South Australia. Frank was one of the first to recognise the benefits of red gum. After building several houses for himself, he made tools and a bullock dray to cut down and haul these massive timbers in order to construct a gigantic twin wine press and several enormous wine vats. He also created the irrigation system that's still in place today. What little spare time he might have had was spent building a piano and various race winning yachts!

A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Merlot with maturation taking place in French oak puncheons and hogsheads (25% new) for a period of 12 months. Pitch black heart with a dark red black tinged hue. Pronounced red currant, red liquorice and red plum aromas intermix with hints of mulberry, dusty vanillin cedar, subtle tobacco and bay leaf. Flowing across the mid weighted palate with ample richness are red currant, red liquorice and mulberry fruits complimented by dusty earth, vanillin cedar, spicy tobacco and infusions of bay leaf. Slightly chalky, fine grained tannins lend a sturdy structure. Long elegant conclusion.
Drink over the next 6-8 years.
Alc. 13.5%

Other Reviews…..
Cabernet sauvignon (72%), malbec (18%), petit verdot (6%) and merlot (4%), aged for 12 months in French oak, 25% new. Salt and pepper, blueberry and blackcurrant, cloves and minerally/ferrous characters. This is a seriously good wine. It's characterful, balanced, lengthy and interesting, its dark-berried fruit flavours sunk deep into the palate, its freshness maintained, and its finish as convincing as everything that came before. Drink by 2040.
96 Points
Campbell Mattinson - James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion