Crimson red color with purple tonalities. Charming characteres of the berry(cherry and Blackberry) integrated with floral aromas (( violet, sweet oak) and the tact of the cedar crust.A certain initial sweetness of the berry, but on the medium palate slightly dry tannins. This is not an enormous wine but well strcutured with a narrow style which intagrates and gets better with time. Definitivily a wine with a long lasting life.
Pairing: Aged Cheese, Game Animals, Grilled Red Meats, Legume, Roasts, Stews.
Lake's Folly was the first new vineyard in the Hunter Valley last century, established by Max Lake and his family in 1963. The tradition continues, with the first boutique winery in Australia making only two wines, a red (Cabernet blend) and a white (100% Chardonnay), using all estate grown... fruit.
The property changed hands in May 2000 to Peter Fogarty. Peter was the chosen buyer because of his wish to maintain the integrity and current direction of the Folly. Nine years on, nothing has changed nor is likely to. There are no plans for expansion, small is beautiful.
With a total production of around 4,500 cases, less then a quarter is Chardonnay. We practice the Kiss philosophy around here, 1 red and 1 white, same vintage, same price, (life is complicated enough as it is!). The most important aspect is great fruit and attention to detail from vineyard to bottle.
In the vineyard, quality is derived primarily from the terroir. The old vines, now well and truly self regulated to produce low cropping high quality fruit, are well established and give consistency even in difficult years.
The winemaking aspect is very simple. Hand picking, gentle crushing and traditional open fermentation for the reds, barrel fermentation and extended yeast lees contact for the Chardonnay. Judicious use of French oak, small barrel maturation for both, hand bottling and that's it, no more, no less.
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