Red Grapes
The list of red grape varieties Seven Fields grows and manages is below. Each grape has a unique flavour and characteristics that contribute to the flavour of the wine they are used to produce.
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc vines bear thinner-skinned, earlier-ripening grapes with lower overall acidity when compared to Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields are similar although cabernet franc normally buds and ripens somewhat earlier. Cabernet Franc vines survive cold winters better than Cabernet Sauvignon, but are more susceptible to being damaged by spring frosts. The flavour profile of Cabernet Franc may be both fruitier and sometimes more herbal or vegetative than Cabernet Sauvignon, although lighter in both colour and tannins.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon makes the most dependable candidate for aging, more often improving into a truly great wine than any other single varietal. With age, its distinctive black currant aroma can develop bouquet nuances of cedar, violets, leather, or cigar box and its typically tannic edge may soften and smooth considerably. Cabernet sauvignon berries are small, spherical with black, thick and very tough skin. This toughness makes the grapes fairly resistant to disease and spoilage and able to withstand most autumn rains with little damage. These growth characteristics, along with its flavour appeal have made Cabernet Sauvignon one of the most popular red wine varieties worldwide.
Malbec
One of the traditional "Bordeaux varietals", Malbec has characteristics that fall somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. A midseason ripener, it can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavour component to add complexity to blends. In order to develop full maturity and distinction, Malbec needs "hang time" even after sugar levels indicate ripeness. Otherwise, immature Malbec can be very "green" tasting, without its characteristic notes of plum and anise.
Merlot
Merlot ripens at least a week earlier than either Cabernet variety. The best quality Merlot grows in rocky, arid ground, but is fairly adaptable. While its flavour profile is similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot tends to be less distinctive and slightly more herbaceous in both aroma and taste. Ripeness is critical; both under ripe and over ripe grapes lean away from fruit and towards a more herbaceous flavour. Merlot has slightly lower natural acidity than Cabernet and generally less astringency, therefore it usually leaves more of a lush feel in the mouth.
Mourvedre
Mourvèdre as a cultivated wine variety originated in Spain, where it is also called Mataro or Monastrell. Mourvédre is a very late variety in both bud break and ripening season. In the early 1980s, several Australian wineries popularised various blends of Grenache, Shiraz, and Mouvedre as "GSM" wines. Unblended Mourvèdre wines tend to be deep-coloured, quite tannic, somewhat alcoholic, and have generally "spicy" and sometimes, "gamey" aromas in their youth.
Petit Verdot
Winemakers generally use the Petit Verdot grape as chefs would use seasoning. The "spice box" contribution this grape adds to wine is dense with dark colour, powerful flavours, and heavy tannins. This is a vinous example of "a little goes a long way": Too much petit Verdot in a blend can make the entire wine seem coarse, rustic, or unrefined. Petit Verdot is occasionally, but rarely bottled anywhere as a stand-alone varietal. Typically its powerful characteristics are moderated by blending with other grape varieties. The fruit develops in relatively small winged clusters, loosely filled with round, dark red-to-black, relatively thick-skinned, berries.
Shiraz
Shiraz is one of the oldest cultivated grape varieties known, with its origin being in Persia, near the city with the same name. More than half the world's total Shiraz acreage is planted in France (known as Syrah or Hermitage), but it is also one of the most successful and popular grape varieties to be planted in Australia. Shiraz is a mid-season ripener and requires heat to get fully ripe; but can lose varietal character when even slightly overripe. The berry is thick-skinned and dark, almost black. Shiraz forms intense wines, with deep violet, nearly black colour, chewy texture and richness, and often alcoholic strength, with aromas that tend to be more spicy than fruity.
Tempranillo
Tempranillo tend to be overall both low in acidity and sugar but often high in pH, and nearly always high in tannin from their thick skins. Mindful of high tannins, many winemakers advocate partial whole berry fermentation. Tempranillo aromas and flavours often combine elements of berryish fruit, herbaceousness, an earthy-leathery character, and good minerality. While its varietal character is distinctive, it is also somewhat vague and easily overpowered by oak. It is not often bottled as a stand-alone varietal, but frequently used as the base variety in blends.