Leasingham Magnus Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2002
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-Australian Wine Magazine
"Splash for your cash... Full bodied and unbelievable value for a wine made from Clare Valley Fruit.."
Daily Telegraph, Sydney
"This wine is nothing short of
tremendous..."
Matthew Dukes, UK Wine Communicator
of the Year
In 1893 four eminent South Australians recognised the potential of the now revered Clare Valley and established Leasingham Wines. Magnus Badger, a solicitor, was one of these enterprising pioneers. This richly flavoured full-bodied wine pays tribute to his contribution to the development of the region and Leasingham Wines. A blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine displays all the hallmarks of the Clare Valley and Leasingham style: sweet fruit concentration and boldness of structure.
This wine is deep ruby red in colour and has brilliant clarity. On the nose the wine displays lifted aromas of plum and black cherry with a hint of underlying earthy tobacco leaf. The palate shows sweet fruit flesh with finely textured tannins. Characters of mulberry and plum fruit are balanced with nutmeg spice and coffee mocha oak. The palate is soft and round with lingering persistence.
The Leasingham winery was acquired by The Hardy Wine Company in January 1988, when a major upgrade of vineyards, winery, tourism and promotional facilities was begun. Subsequently that year the Clarevale Co-operative was integrated giving access to further premium fruit. Today the name Leasingham is reserved for premium wines only. The Stanley name continues on a range of wine casks produced at the Buronga winery
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
The Clare Valley is actually a series of narrow north to south valleys, each with a different soil type and slightly different weather patterns along their stretch. In the southern heartland between Watervale and Auburn, there is mainly a crumbled, red clay loam soil called terra rossa and cool breezes come in from Gulf St. Vincent. A few miles north, in Polish Hill, is soft, red loam over clay; westerlies blowing in from the Spencer Gulf influece this area's climate.
The differences in soil, elevation, degree of slope and weather enable the region to produce some of Australia’s finest, aromatic, spicy and lime-pithy Rieslings, as well as excellent Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec with ripe plummy fruit, good acid and big structure.
Clare Valley is an isolated farming country with a continental climate known for its warm and sunny days, followed by cool nights—perfect for wine grapes’ development of sugar and phenolic ripeness in conjunction with notable acidity levels.