Larry Cherubino The Yard Riversdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Channybearup, Bimbimbi, Riversdale, Justin, Acacia - within each of these vineyards is The Yard: the place where we break ground in single vineyard wines.

The magic of wine is its ability to express provenance. This is why, for the Cherubino crew, making wine means growing grapes. It’s much harder to improve the vineyard than it is to employ a change in winemaking technique. From the big things like travelling the world in the hunt for grape clones which they believe would be well suited to their vineyard sites, to the little things like dropping the height of the cane from 1.2m to 400mm, every step counts.

They don’t use herbicides, instead opting for fish and seaweed applications. They make their own compost to support the whole vineyard biology. It’s not just about better water retention, but about healthy soils with good microbial activity. It’s a whole ecosystem thinking to make healthier, disease-resistant vines. Continuous within The Yard is the wineries work to translate and transmit terroir.

The wines made here offer a first look into the future of the Cherubino tier range.

2021 saw an exceptional vintage, with rainfall falling at just the right times. Rieslings are some of the best in recent memory with expression of floral aromas and balanced acidities. Cabernet and Shiraz from Frankland are exceptional with tannin and colour. Chardonnay and Pinot from the sub-region of Porongurup are exceptional examples.

Fruit was hand-picked and sorted. Fermentation was carried out in small lot fermenters. Moderate extraction was aimed for, thus ensuring vineyard characters were fully expressed. The wine was then aged in new and one year old oak for 8 months.