Winemaker Notes
Tintara fruit is 100% McLaren Vale and includes only the absolute best lots from both estate-owned and contracted vineyards. The vineyards are up to 70-years-old and provide the dense character and powerful dark fruit aromas found in the Tintara wines.
This 2002 Shiraz was fermented in small open top and stainless steel fermenters. Each fermenter was tasted 2 times per day to determine temperature and pump over regime—the end goal being the balance between fruit, tannin and texture. This technique is especially important when determining the correct time to press. The components from the open-top fermenters are then basket pressed which ensures the extraction of only the soft tannins.
The 2002 vintage is big, ripe and juicy with bold dark fruits, blueberries, spice and cedar, with nicely integrated fruit, oak and tannins, giving way to a delicious and full bodied finish.
Professional Ratings
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.