Coriole McLaren Vale Estate Shiraz 2018 (Australia)

Description

• French oak
• Dark berry fruit
• Bitter chocolate
• Succulent tannins

The 2018 Estate Shiraz beautifully demonstrates the mixture of fruitfulness and savoury elements that these 50 year old vineyards provide. The nose shows blackberry, blueberry, bitter chocolate and aniseed spice. The palate is bright and full bodied with succulent tannins and great concentration of dark-berried fruit. A classic example from a superb vintage.

Shiraz has been Coriole’s principle variety and flagship wine since the first bottling in 1970. Coriole Shiraz is 100% Estate grown and the average vine age is 50 years old.

After solid rainfalls during 2017 and early 2018 the vineyards were in good health heading into the growing season. Early spring was cold which led to late budburst and early predictions were for a late vintage. As the season progressed rainfall reduced and we had several warm spells which brought on ripening. A warm dry summer led to much lower yields than initially expected, some bunch weights were half what they were in 2017. Picking started in earnest in mid February and proceeded at a leisurely pace throughout March and into early April. 2018 is a vintage of exceptional quality. The resulting wines are intense and concentrated, the whites rich and flavoursome, the reds structured and complex.

This wine is made in the traditional manner; fermented in open tanks and hand plunged, and matured in French oak hogsheads. The Estate Shiraz has impressive fruit intensity, yet is elegant and will reward further cellaring.

Food Pairing: A classic dish for a classic wine - try with a rare roast beef, with a healthy level of marbling scotch fillet stays beautifully tender and juicy. Serve laden with pepper sauce and all the usual trimmings.