WINERY NOTE:
Single Vineyard Shiraz, fruit sourced from ‘Springs Hill Vineyard’, Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale grown by the Whaite family
Dry Grown on Holocene Sand, North/South aspect 205-210m altitude. Planted 1998.
A vineyard we both have worked with in previous roles and one we were instantly drawn to for our Shiraz. 2020 is our third release of this single vineyard wine.
Hand-picked fruit, wild-fermented in a 132-year-old wax lined concrete open fermenter, 22% whole bunch (foot trodden for tannin extraction from ripe rachis), remainder destemmed. Cold soaked for 5 days, plunged and pumped over during peak of ferment, 13 days on skins. Wine was matured on lees for 10 months in French oak, 20% new.
The Shiraz was had harvested on the 20th of March. This year we noticed a significant increase in overall rachis weight which whilst we were mindful of, we were pleased with the ripeness and taste and saw this as an opportunity to reach the potential of what we are looking to achieve with Shiraz in McLaren Vale. We both love wines of the Northern Rhone and saw this as an opportunity to try express some of the techniques we learnt from there when working and visiting.
Spicy, deep, dense and dark to black primary fruits, Kalamata tapenade and white spice intermingle with coal dust, graphite and charcuterie notes. Richly scented, medium to full bodied with a dense ripe core of coiled tannins, a coolness to the fruits through the palate with richness that McLaren Vale delivers with little effort. The fine spice notes throughout this wine giving it freshness and a style befitting of where it’s grown.
