Each morning and every night, come rain, hail or shine, Neil Pike and his faithful Labrador
Bella, take a relaxed stroll around the vines on the Pike estate Polish Hill River property. Clare Valley grows the most supple red wines, exhibiting a splendour and elegance unmatched anywhere else in Australia. An exquisite Cabernet Merlot accord, made delectable through the captivating Clare Valley perfumes of blueberry and mint, its seamless palate of plum bramble fruit, supported by succulent licorice tannins and framed by a veneer of warming oak.
Andrew and Neil Pike aim to produce wines which reflect the character of grape, the endowments of Valley Clare Valley and expression of vintage, producing the best efforts possible out of each and every year. The brothers are quite happy to watch over the wines during throughout their formative stage and intervene only when necessary. Cabernet and Merlot grapes are lightly crushed and destemmed, minimal amounts of SO2 are added at the crusher prior to maceration and fermentation. All red wines are matured in high quality 228 litres French oak barrels for at least a year, racked on ocassion and topped up once a month to ensure the angels receive their share.
Medium bright red colour. Attractive aromas of ripe blackcurrant and black cherries, with a touch of charry French oak complimenting the concentrated fruit characters. Some dark chocolate and violet/ leafy notes showing. Rich flavours of ripe, dark fruits and chocolate are the features here with fine, dry tannins, subtle oak and balanced acidity adding length and structure to the finish.
