This is a wine that is both fragrant and lifted on the nose, lacey and floral, leading to a beautifully balanced palate with a graceful structure and gorgeous mouthfeel. A beautiful wine from a solid vintage.
Mark Gifford, Owner/Winemaker
About the Wine
Cabernet Franc is stepping out of the shadows. Some of the country's most exciting Bordeaux styled wines are being made from this grape, and to be perfectly franc, we are loving it!
The second release of a Blue Poles Reserve Cabernet Franc is excellent. Only four barrels were produced at the Reserve grade by Mark Gifford and Clive Otto from this vintage, each one exceptional in its own right and bringing something unique to the final Reserve wine. This is a wine of precision and startling refinement, clearly a leading Australian example of the charming variety.
The devout Blue Poles members have snapped up most of it so these are some of the last remaining bottles in the country. As Gary Walsh observed in his 94+ point review, "It’s a great thing to drink even now, though should be better again in a few more years." If you are loving the Franc Revolution, you really need to try this wine, at least once.
About Blue Poles
Blue Poles is the venture of Mark Gifford and Tim Markwell - a pair of experienced geologists who have in the last decade or so created one of the undoubted 'cult hero' labels of Margaret River.
Their red wines are extraordinary not only for their old world charm and quality, but the outrageous value they deliver. Tiny volumes produced but definitely a producer to get to know.
Margaret River, WA
From the Producer
Since 2007 we have selected a Reserve wine from individual varieties at Blue Poles when both the vintage and the variety allows for the wine to be exceptional. As such they represent the best varietal wine that we can produce from our site in the heart of Margaret River.
Vintage
2015 was a warm Margaret River red wine vintage with an early budburst as spring warmed early, and then followed by a warm dry January and February (but with few heat extremes – steady warmth all the way through). In early March the grapes were approaching ripeness 2 weeks in advance of our usual picking dates, but the early start to the vintage meant the grapes were not reduced in flavour or balance. Two major rain events occurred in the middle of March and we picked the Cabernet Franc immediately after both rain periods before any rain had managed to soak into our dry soil, meaning the grapes came off in exceptional shape. A very good year for reds, giving opportunity for solid flavour retention and tannin concentration.
Viticulture
The fruit was severely thinned prior to veraison, and handpicked early one morning. Any grapes that were considered not good “enough to eat” were dropped on the ground. The technical data on these grapes are as below: Cabernet Franc: Picked 19 March 2015 Total weight 3,190 kg (Only 4 Barrels selected for the Reserve) Baume 13.0 pH 3.56 TA 5.10 This was an excellent vintage for our Cabernet Franc in terms of flavour and complexity.
Winemaking
The wine was curated by Clive Otto and Kate Morgan and fermented in a closed vat and continuously “pumped over” to extract colour and tannins softly, with ferment being completed after 13 days. The wine was pressed and placed in French oak barrels and stored for 22 months. This wine was made by tasting and re-tasting every barrel of wine that we had produced from the 2015 vintage and came across a combination of 4 barrels that was simply exemplary. This is the second Reserve Cabernet Franc wine bottled at Blue Poles and it was a wine that continues the quality of our excellent debut.
Food Match
When opening a bottle consider a meal with game as supporting the experience – roasted deer or duck would be perfect.
Blend : Cabernet Franc (100%)
ABV : 13.10%
Closure : Screw Cap
Drink Until : 2030
Bottle Size : 750ml
Critic Reviews
"It looks a little light and flighty at first, not in a bad way mind you, but it certainly builds richness and weight as it stands in the glass. Raspberry and boysenberry, biscuit and baking spice, a sniff of sweet herb and grass, perhaps some ground coffee and violet in there too. Medium bodied, vibrant and succulent, bright raspberry pip acidity, spicy earthy oak, gravelly tannin, and a well defined finish of fine length. Linear and refined, the tannin pleasingly assertive on exit. It’s a great thing to drink even now, though should be better again in a few more years." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
Delivery is Free for any order of $99 or more, or just $10 for any orders less than $99. There is no minimum order quantity and you can mix and match as much as you like. Make your perfect mixed pack! In Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Byron Bay we deliver with our own vans. All other areas are serviced by Australia Post.
Sydney Metro orders in the Pink Zone will be delivered the next day 5 days per week, Monday through Friday. Orders in the Blue Zone will be delivered on Tuesdays and Fridays. Everything outside these zones will be delivered by Australia Post.
Melbourne Metro orders are picked up at 12pm from our Sydney warehouse every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and delivered the following day in Melbourne (Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri). Please refer to this map to see if your address is considered Melbourne Metro here. Everything outside of this zone will be dispatched next business day with Australia Post.
Brisbane Metro orders are picked up from our Sydney warehouse every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 12pm and delivered on Thursday or Friday. Please refer to this map to see if your address is considered Brisbane Metro here. Everything outside of this zone will be dispatched next business day with Australia Post.
Australia Wide Deliveries To the rest of Australia we use Australia Post. The Australia Post Collection Truck picks up orders from our Sydney warehouse every weekday at midday. If your order is placed before 12pm we’ll get it on the truck that day. Delivery times vary considerably with Australia Post and unfortunately there is no Express Delivery Option for wine (because it is fragile and heavy). PLEASE NOTE that we are currently seeing significant delays in the Australia Post delivery network. Strict government health and safety requirements and very high parcel volumes are causing significant backlogs at the main NSW and VIC sorting facilities. Orders are still arriving safe and sound but you may notice slower delivery times and less frequent scanning updates than usual.
Authority to Leave and other delivery instructions can be left in the ‘SPECIAL REQUESTS’ box during checkout. The 'SPECIAL REQUESTS' box can be found on the here page before the final checkout page.
Our Heat Policy can be viewed here. If you would like us to hold dispatch of your order for milder weather please leave instructions to do so in the 'SPECIAL REQUESTS' box found on the cart page before the final checkout. We are happy to hold it for as long as you like. All orders are fully insured so you can buy with full confidence that these tasty beverages will get to you in tip-top shape.
Returns are free for 100 days after purchase. You can view the conditions of our return policy here
For any other shipping related inquiries, please see our helpful FAQ, email us at hello@differentdrop.com or call us on 1300 668 385..
Do I have to order in dozens? No, please mix it up! You can order wines in any quantity and variation you like. You can order 1 bottle or 50. We challenge you to make the ultimate mixed pack of wine!
Are there volume discounts? No, our pricing is designed to be the best in market already - no marking up and then discounting down! For very large orders (weddings, etc) we are open to negotiating though. Just give us a call.
Do we price match? Yes, within reason. Everyday low & consistent pricing is something we strongly believe in. We want our customers to feel confident they are always getting the best price. If you see a price lower somewhere else let us know and we'll consider matching it. We'll even retrospectively issue you store credit if you have already purchased from us but you see a lower price somewhere later on. Our price match policy can be seen here.
Can coupons and discounts be stacked? No, only one discount or coupon can be applied to an order at once.
I am trying to add more of a wine to my cart but it won’t let me? This means we are running low on stock of that wine. So for example, if the website will only allow you to add 3 bottles and no more, then that is all we have of that particular wine. The good news is we may be able to order more for you. Just contact us on 1300 668 385 or hello@differentdrop.com and we'll organise the additional quantity for you.
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Can I special order a wine you do not sell? If it’s doable, then we’ll make it happen. Just contact us directly via phone, chat or email and we’ll find out for you right away. Please note that in most cases special orders such as these will need to be in full case lots (6 or 12 bottles).
More FaQs: here
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