Knappstein Enterprise Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 (1500ml)
Style: Red Wine
Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (91%), Malbec (9%)
Closure: Cork
Knappstein Enterprise Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 (1500ml)
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Producer: Knappstein
Country: Australia
Region: Clare Valley
Vintage: 1999
Critic Score: 90 and ★★★★
Alcohol: 14.5%
Size: 1500 ml
Drink by: 2030
Enterprise is the flagship label for Knappstein, first introduced with the 1994 vintage. The 1999 Enterprise Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 91% cabernet sauvignon and 9% malbec from the Enterprise Vineyard, planted in 1969 at the northern end of the Clare Valley.
"The deep crimson colour and impenetrable black centre of the 1999 Enterprise cabernet are indicative of the low-yielding, dry-grown Clare Valley vines that produce it. The depth is also attributable to the varieties used. While it's labelled as cabernet, it contains 9% malbec, a recipe Clare producers have long plied with great success. The palate is rich, generous and harmonious, with juicy currants followed by waves of dark fruit and charry oak flavours held together nicely by ripe tannins that lead to a lingering finish. It's surprisingly soft and approachable, yet it has potential to come together and develop further complexity." Divine Food & Wine Magazine
The vines are dry-grown on red loam soils and speak profoundly of a sense of place, producing grapes with a harmonious balance between strength and elegance. The wine is fermented in a mix of open and closed fermenters, and spent 18 months in a mix of predominantly French oak (10 per cent new) and a touch of American oak.
Expert reviews
"Medium to full red-purple; smooth, almost glossy, blackcurrant and blackberry fruit on the bouquet is replicated with the same ripe cassis flavours, then powerful tannins take over; needs a decade. Best drinking: 2004 to 2014." James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 90 points
"The deep crimson colour and impenetrable black centre of the 1999 Enterprise cabernet are indicative of the low-yielding, dry-grown Clare Valley vines that produce it. The depth is also attributable to the varieties used. While it's labelled as cabernet, it contains 9% malbec, a recipe Clare producers have long plied with great success. The nose shows a mix of dark berry and currant aromas with herbal watts that are more floral, almost lavender-like, rather than the usual mint. The palate is rich, generous and harmonious, with juicy currants followed by waves of dark fruit and charry oak flavours held together nicely by ripe tannins that lead to a lingering finish. It's surprisingly soft and approachable, yet it has potential to come together and develop further complexity with another five years bottle age." Divine Food & Wine Magazine
"Rich, powerful aromas with complex aged characters underpinned by a strong wood influence. A stylish cabernet with plenty of developed nuances emerging on the long, firmly structured palate." ★★★★ Winestate Magazine
South Australia
South Australian is responsible for more than half the production of all Australian wine. It is home to more than 900 wineries across 18 wine regions. The regions are Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Currency Creek, Eden Valley, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Mount Benson, Mount Gambier, Padthaway, Riverland, Robe, Southern Fleurieu, Southern Flinders Ranges and Wrattonbully.
Many of the well-known names in the South Australian wine industry established their first vineyards in the late 1830s and early 1840s. The first vines in McLaren Vale were planted at Reynella in 1839 and Penfold's established Magill Estate on the outskirts of Adelaide in 1844.
South Australia has a vast diversity in geography and climate which allows the State to be able to produce a range of grape varieties - from cool climate Riesling in the Clare and Eden Vallies to the big, full bodied Shiraz wines of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Two of Australia's best-known wines, Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace, are produced here. There is much to discover in South Australia for the wine lover.