Carpe Vinum

Carpe Vinum is the venture of Malcolm and Henry Skene. In 2011 Malcolm returned from many years overseas of postgraduate studies and then work in Europe (and the UK), while Henry had been building his legal practice in Melbourne. Both had a keen interest in wine, and one night over dinner they decided to seize the day and set about making their own Cabernet Sauvignon, the variety they loved best of all. Not quite by chance, the Skene family had owned the Krongart property near Penola since 1869, and in the mid-1990s their uncle/ father planted 4ha of cabernet sauvignon. Its isolation and other distractions meant that it had gone untended for years until they were able to persuade viticulturist Fred Boot to leave Yabby Lake (he had spent the previous 14.5 years at the Strathbogie Ranges vineyards) and begin the resuscitation of the vineyard. It's still a work in progress, with Tom Carson making the '14 and '15 vintages at Yabby Lake, and Sue Bell making the '16 vintage. The '14 wine said more about the state of the vineyard than the skills of winemaker Tom Carson. -JAMES HALLIDAY