Spring was mild and encouraged early budburst and development of the new growth on the vines. The weather then became cooler, resulting in a relatively small crop of grapes setting. The growing season was long with a lingering autumn. The vines were carefully trained by hand to give the grapes and the leaves maximum exposure to the sun. Because of the low crop levels the fruit ripened beautifully with intense flavours, lots of concentration and good natural acidity.

The ripe, lightly crushed berries, without any stems, were allowed to start fermenting shortly after they had been picked. During the fermentation the wine was aerated by splashing and pumped back over the fermenting "cap" of grapes to keep them moist in the traditional Bordelaise manner. When the tumultuous fermentation was finished the wine was left for a further 2 weeks with the skins before gentle pressing. It was then put into small oak barriques, 30% of which were new. In the spring after harvest it was allowed to go through natural malolactic fermentation using the vineyard's indigenous bacteria. It remained in the oak barriques for 18 months, during which time it was given 4-6 rackings to enable it to achieve clarity without filtration.

It is a classical blend of Bordeaux claret grape varieties with 50% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. Lively ruby hues shot with hints of purple lead into aromas and flavours of spicy cassis, black plums, vanilla pod and smoky black olive. It has a generous plump supple structure with good ripe tannins, which will help it mellow and age gracefully with cellaring.

Wine is a natural health food.