"This is gorgeously perfumed on the nose showing blackberry, dark plum, vanilla, olive and cedar characters. The palate is equally satisfying with excellent weight and fruit power together with supple mouthfeel and silky tannins, finishing wonderfully long and delicious. At its best: now to 2028" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Oct 2019

This Shiraz displays deep red with purple hues in the glass accompanied by a delicious bouquet of dark berry fruits and fragrant floral notes spiced with hints of peppercorn, redskins and subtle mocha chocolate influences. The palate is full-bodied, offering ample depth with plenty of inky ripe forest fruits; blackberries, redcurrants and spice. The moreish, jubey fruit and approachable tannins combine to produce a generous wine with a supple structure and a wonderful persistence of flavour. Perfectly approachable in its youth, this wine will comfortably cellar for several years.

Fruit for this blend was entirely Estate grown on the Boodjudup and Stevens Road vineyard in the Wallcliffe sub-region of Margaret River.

The growing season began with an early budburst after a relatively mild winter with reasonable rainfall. The beautiful spring weather which followed which led to good flowering/fruit set and improved yields for most varieties in the region. Fine, warm weather during summer saw sugar accumulation accelerate quickly in the whites, until a significant rain event mid-January stalled the ripening process until the fine weather returned soon after. While the unusual January rain did present some challenges in the vineyard, it was certainly welcomed by the reds which were just beginning veraison. The warm, dry weather throughout February was fantastic, ensuring the whites achieved flavour ripeness and enabling the reds to attain flavour and tannin ripeness at full physciological maturity. 

The fruit was destemmed and then crushed with open rollers to introduce whole berries into the ferment. The core component was fermented in static fermenters at 26.C for 6 days. The Stevens Road component, which made up 20% of the blend, was pressed early and finished fermentation in predominantly new French oak. After fermentation and pressing, the various batches underwent MLF and 14 months maturation in a selection of fine French oak barriques (35% new oak in total) prior to assembling the blend and bottling. 

Food Pairing: Pair this Shiraz with a hearty Beef stew mixed with winter vegetables or a parsley, thyme, rosemary and sage roasted Venison.