Nose
Expansive aromas of poached plums, blueberry muffins, star anise, violets and mocha.
Palate
A mix of rich and plump poached winter fruits, ginger spice and chewy tannins.
Growing Conditions
An excellent vintage in the Margaret River region. A warm and dry spring was followed by a summer punctuated with perfectly timed rain events but otherwise low in humidity. The autumn harvest period was dry and protracted with vintage conditions best described as on the warm side of perfect. The resulting red wines have definitive varietal expression, rich fruit power and fine tannins
Winemaking
Harvest of the 2011 Leston Shiraz blocks occurred in the middle of March. Vinification occurs in both open vat and closed stainless steel fermenters with diligent cap management to extract fine fruit tannin and strong varietal flavour. Select parcels of wine were run to barrel at 2 to 3º Be to capture new barrel characters from the final few degrees of fermentation .The remaining blocks were pressed at dryness to retain fruit vibrancy. Barrel maturation occurs in 40 % new and 60% older barriques of which 95% are French oak and 5 % American oak. 18 months in oak, is ample time to achieve the thorough integration of oak and grape tannins. After pressing, each batch is matured separately in order to build a wine history over time. The wine was blended in September 2012 from a selection of the best Shiraz blocks on the Leston vineyard. After egg white fining and light filtration, the wine was bottled .
Appearance
Vibrant dark raspberry.
