Graham Beck Cuvée Clive 2014 revisited

No mountain too high.

According to Graham Beck winemaker Pieter Ferreira, a small batch of the top-end bottling that is Cuvée Clive 2014 was disgorged in March in time for competition season (see review here) whereas what is currently on the market was taken off the sediment in October and that extra six months or so has resulted in a wine which is even better resolved.

At the official launch function last night, Ferreira also showed the 2012, 2011 and 2009 vintages, a point of interest that there is no predetermined approach to making the wine but it is rather the best that the cellar can do in any particular year.

Consequently, while the 2012 and 2014 are both from Chardonnay, the 2012 saw only 20% of the base juice fermented in barrel compared to 100% in the case of the 2014. The 2009 and 2011, meanwhile, were both Pinot Noir driven and consequently show more mushroom and earth notes than their more recent counterparts.