Larry Cherubino Uovo Nebbiolo / Cabernet, Frankland River

Description

Larry Cherubino Uovo Nebbiolo / Cabernet Sauvignon is a red wine produced in the Frankland River wine-growing sub-region of western Australia. It is fermented in innovative concrete eggs for a pure and textured finish.

Winemaker Larry Cherubino has a very full CV: he has been head winemaker at Houghton and a travelling consultant, designing vineyards and wineries around the world in countries including New Zealand, the USA, France, Italy and South Africa. Cherubino and his wife Edwina began their own wine company in 2004 with the purchase of a small parcel of vines in Frankland River. Edwina’s ancestors, the Egerton-Warburton’s had migrated from England in the 1800s and were the first to plant vineyards alongside the banks of the Frankland River in 1875, pioneers in the region. The company has grown substantially since 2005 when the first wines were produced and Larry has become a very highly regarded winemaker. Larry Cherubino Wines has since been named ‘Winery of the Year’ by James Halliday and Matt Skinner.

Winemaking Innovation: Concrete Eggs

Uovo Nebbiolo / Cabernet Sauvignon is named “Uovo” after the large, clay-cement ovoid tank (a giant “egg”) in which the wine is vinified. Taking cues from ancient wine-making techniques, the fermenters are modelled on the idea of Roman amphora, and blending this with modern winemaking sensibilities. The egg-shaped concrete tanks allow gentle micro-oxygenation and constant lees movement. The famous Rhone winemaker, Michel Chapoutier, is credited with being the first person to use concrete, egg-shaped vats. The Uovo range also includes a Riesling, Chardonnay, Grenache and a Cabernet / Touriga blend.

Larry Cherubino Uovo Nebbiolo / Cabernet Sauvignon Winemaking

The grapes for the Cherubino Uovo Nebbiolo / Cabernet Sauvignon come from Cherubino’s Riverdale Vineyard which was planted in 2012 in the Frankland River wine-growing area of Western Australia. Grapes grown here in the cool continental climate thrive in gravelly loam soils, cooled by breezes off the Southern Ocean.

The Uovo Nebbiolo Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are vinified in a clay cement ovoid tank and the lees are continuously forced upward by an internal current resembling a vortex. This gives the wine voluptuousness, purity and texture. No tannin, acid or animal fining products are added. There is zero sulphur used throughout the winemaking with only a a minimal amount added at bottling.

The blend for the 2022 is 81% Nebbiolo and 19% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon brings structure whilst Nebbiolo adds intrigue.