25 year old Cabernet vines - own rooted. Organic Principles (Not Certified) Clay Loam over fractured Mudstone. Hand harvested early April and then immediately destemmed. This Cabernet was treated quite delicately, receiving two punch downs a day to aid in gentle extraction of tannin, colour and flavour.

Doug Lilburne’s journey into wine started in kitchens in New York as a teenager, progressing through culinary school then to setting up a farm-to-table food program at a winery in Northern California. Winery work eventually drew him away from the stove, and vintages around the world followed. Now settled into his leased winery and vineyard in the Yarra Valley’s Steels Creek, Lilburne’s Mise en Place label focuses on home fruit and organic vineyards in the Pyrenees and Great Western to currently make a syrah, syrah and touriga nacional blend, and a syrah rosé. The winemaking is manual and traditional, with only sulphur added, and not always. The first release was in 2022 with wines from the 2021 vintage.