Nose

Attractive bouquet of red and blue berry fruits with hints of dried flowers and spice.

Palate

The palate displays layers of vibrant red, black and blue fruits with a silky texture and delicate floral spicy nuances. The fine layered tannins integrate seamlessly with hints of cedar and vanillan derived from the restrained use of French and American oak.

Growing Conditions

Early winter chilling with above average rainfall and full soil moisture provided excellent conditions for complete vine dormancy and an even bud burst with steady uniform vine growth. A December mean temperature of 25.8˚C and south easterly breezes introduced the summer weather pattern, setting the vines up for the all important ripening period. With only 11.5mm of rain falling over December, January and February, it was one of the best and driest preludes to vintage in Margaret River. Harvest commenced early with Baumés generally lower than previous years. The fruit retained excellent natural acidity and displays bright flavours with great varietal expression.Stony, gravelly soils are best suited to growing Shiraz in Margaret River as they reduce the inherent vigour of this variety. Our seven Shiraz blocks comprise five different clones and are planted on some of our toughest, shallow, gravelly soils. All of our vineyards are managed following a sustainable and natural approach to viticulture, with a focus building a healthy and resilient vines through the use of natural products and the encouragement of biodiversity. We employ intensive viticultural management practices, including meticulous crop-thinning, green-thinning and selective harvesting to achieve consistent ripening, which ensures concentrated flavour profiles and phyisiologically rip

Harvest

The Shiraz blocks were hand-harvested between 26 February and 18 March 2014. Each parcel was de-stemmed but not crushed, to preserve the whole berries which were then fermented in a combination of open and static fermenters. A small parcel of Viognier was co-fermented with a batch of Shiraz. To maintain aromatics and the slow extraction of tannin and colour, temperatures were maintained below 25˚C. Gentle hand plunging and pumpovers were employed up to three times a day throughout the fermentation process which was complete in 13 days. Following fermentation the wines were pressed, transferred to barrel and matured in 88% French and 12% American oak, of which 34% was new for 11 months with periodic racking to aid clarification. The parcels were then blended prior to bottling on 8 September 2015.

Aging

Up to 15 years

Appearance

Medium dark red crimson

Food Pairing

Medium bodied red, or lighter game meats, aged cheeses.