Sauska Cabernet Sauvignon Ördög-árok

Villány 2018

Classic Cabernet Sauvignon nose of blackcurrant, eucalyptus with dark chocolate and cinnamon. Rich and concentrated palate with flavor of blackcurrant sauce, black cherry preserves balanced by integrated oak flavors such as chocolate, leather, and graphite. Long and intense with fantastic freshness and vibrancy. Drink or keep.

The Year

Rich, full bodied and intense wines. The 2018 vintage will be remembered as the one with the earliest harvest day ever (August 11th for Rosé). It is considered the warmest year of the past decade, thankfully without any extreme heat peaks. It was constantly warm (and dry) from late spring until early autumn. Mid-September brought some very much-needed rain that slowed down the ripening and allowed the grapes to get some refreshment. The Cabernets and Kékfrankos specially shined in this vintage.

Varietal composition: cabernet sauvignon
Recommended drinking temperature: 17-18 ℃
Alcohol content: 15 %
Bottle size: 0,75 l
18000 Ft
Shelf price
16500 Ft
Regular customer price
24 000 Ft / l
Unit price
Details

Vineyards

This single-vineyard wine comes from the Ördögárok plot, located in the warmer Villány area. The name of this iconic vineyard (Devil’s ditch) is given by its shape: a V-shape plot where the warm air gets trapped, creating an especially warm microclimate that suits perfectly the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon.

The wines coming from this vineyard are always flavorful, rich, and intense. The true spirit of the Villány region.

 

Winemaking

After a 3-tier thorough selection of hand-picked clusters, the grapes were de-stemmed and after a couple of hours of pre-fermentative cold soak, the fermentation started.

Fermented happened in stainless steel tanks.

After 30 days of skin-contact, the wine was gently pressed. Aged for 15 months in 225-liter French barrels. 70% new oak was used.

The Year

Following the late March, winter weather spring arrived early, bringing high temperatures and early bud-break. As a result of the above-average temperatures in April and May shoot growth was rapid. May was very dry, blooming came early and pushed us into an unusually early harvest, we started with the Rose base wines on August 11th. The warm fall did not favor quality, ripening slowed down. In the second half of September, we finally saw some rain, temperatures went down, and ripening restarted. Late ripening varietals, Kékfrankos, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon developed nicely in October, we finished the harvest with Cabernet Sauvignon in mid-October. Despite the unpredictable weather and unbalanced rhythm quality turned out to be excellent.

Details

Type Red wine
Acidity 5,7 g/l
Alcohol content 15 %
Varietal composition: cabernet sauvignon
pH 3,6
Bottle size 0,75 l
Beginning of harvest 2018-10-17
Bottling date 2020-09-24
Vinification in used and new oak barrels
Ageing time 15 Month
Vineyards Ördög-árok

Tasting

color Deep ruby red.
smell Classic Cabernet Sauvignon nose of blackcurrant, eucalyptus with dark chocolate and cinnamon.
taste Rich and concentrated palate with flavor of blackcurrant sauce, black cherry preserves balanced by integrated oak flavors such as chocolate, leather, and graphite.