Winemaker Notes
The fruit for the Reserve Shiraz was primarily sourced from our ‘Willows Block' at Fox Creek and harvested between 14° and 14.5° Baumé. Fermentation on skins was for 8 days with a proportion of the wine (40%) completing fermentation in new American (80%) and French (20%) oak. The wine was matured for 15 months in new and 1 year old American oak. During this time it was racked 3 times allowing us to assess the quality of the wine and fine-tune our oak handling.
Professional Ratings
Though Syrah originated in the Rhône Valley of France, Australia is home to the oldest Syrah (called Shiraz here) vines on the planet. Found in Australia’s Barossa Valley, where phylloxera has never threated viticulture, these ancient vines are between 140 to 175 years old!
Having brought fame and merit to the country’s wine scene since the early 1950s, namely via the debut of Penfolds Grange, today Syrah (Shiraz) claims rank as the most widely planted grape in Australia. In fact, the amount of land dedicated to Shiraz in Australia is now almost equivalent to what it is in France. Australian Shiraz has its own personality with flavors and aromas of intense blackberry, fruitcake, menthol, tobacco leaf and umami. Conveniently one can find great Australian Shiraz at a variety of price points but the very best will be dense, gloriously complex and capable of long aging.