Article by:
Levantine Hill
Vintage: 2017
Varietal blend: 100% Shiraz
Harvest date(s): 18 March, 25 March, 30 March, and 18 April 2017
Bottling date: 27th February 2019
Oak treatment: 100% matured in French oak (29% new)
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Preservative(s): Sulphur dioxide (220)
Ageing potential: 15+ years
Winemaking
Hand-picked over 4 days over the space of a month from specifically selected vineyards. All fruit was hand-sorted and destemmed or crushed to small open vats. Stalks were added back judiciously for additional aroma, complexity and sweep of tannin on the finish. Natural fermentation was allowed to initiate prior to inoculation with a specific varietally-enhancing yeast strain. Cuvaison length ranged from 3 to 4 weeks on skins. Ferments hand-plunged once per day for gentle extraction and integration of tannin.
Winemaker’s notes
The 2017 vintage provided an exceptionally ideal cool and elongated growing season akin to winding the clock back to the classic Yarra Valley conditions of yore. Conditions were perfect for sourcing grapes with the intention of creating a classic style of cool-climate Shiraz reminiscent of the pioneering wines that forged the Yarra Valley’s enviable reputation. Showing volume and weight with finesse and restraint, this perfumed, brooding and enticingly refined medium-bodied Shiraz is the result of an assemblage of three individual vineyard sites, all targeted for their individual defining strengths and characters that would play a role in constructing a complete wine. Fruit was sourced from individually selected sites across the Yarra Valley. Leading with an intensity of white pepper and char, the complex, slowlyevolving nose offers a mélange of mulberry, dried figs, cloves, cardamom and fruit mince pies. The palate delivers a grace and presence with the weight pushing through to a slow-building resonance of flavour and tannin. The density of black fruits is wound tight and integrated so that no one element stands above the others. This wine is suitable for vegans. Decanting is highly recommended.
$800 / 750ml Bottle / PURCHASE LIMIT: 6 BOTTLES