Freeman Cabernet Sauvignon Altura Vineyard 2022

Freeman Vineyards is a boutique family-owned winery in the Hilltops region of New South Wales, renowned for its Italian-inspired wines and pioneering spirit. Founded in 1999 by Dr. Brian Freeman, a former head of wine science at Charles Sturt University. Brian transitioned from academia to winemaking, bringing deep viticultural expertise to the Hilltops region. Situated in Prunevale, Hilltops, at 560 metres above sea level, the vineyard benefits from cool nights and sunny days during ripening, deep granite soils mixed with red silt, sand from central Australia and well-drained terrain, ideal for growing high-quality grapes.

Freeman Vineyards is Australia’s only producer of the northern Italian grape varieties Rondinella and Corvina, used in their flagship Secco. Other Italian varietals include Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Aleatico, Prosecco, Fiano, Pinot Grigio, and an obscure varietal for Australia, Furmint. Their priority is well crafted wines with a focus on textural complexity, balance, and food-friendliness.

One variety that is synonymous with the cool Hilltops terroir is cabernet sauvignon – the classic Australian variety that thrives in a continental climate where warm days and cool nights are integral to cultivating balance and complexity. The Altura Vineyard encompasses a block of mature 40-year-old cabernet vines. Selected bunches are handpicked with a yield of four tonnes per hectare.

The 2022 season was marked by a cool spring and summer with unseasonal rainfall but thankfully autumn was sunny and dry and the grapes ripened slowly and evenly, ideal for the final development of the fully ripe bunches. The grapes were harvested in early April with good acidity and balance.

The wine Companion

Freeman Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 – 90 / 100 Points

As with its shiraz sibling, this is ripe for the taking. Cassis and currants, wintergreen and charred radicchio with some bitter herbs, too, working with the textural tannins. A little pinched on the finish but food will sort that effect out…

– Jane Faulkner