Sandalford Estate Reserve Shiraz 2019 (Australia)

Description

Blueberry, Oak, Spice

Dark cherry red in the glass. Dark black fruits, savoury spices, star anise and black pepper overlayed with smoky vanilin oak, cedar and chocolate box nuances. The palate is full flavoured and structured. The dark berry flavours of blackberry, mulberry and blueberries mingle with the savoury spices. There's a savouriness to this wine in support of the dark fruit and spice notes. The tannins are rounded and supple and in balance with the acid. The finish is rich and lingering. A wine that will age gracefully for at least another decade if stored in ideal cellaring conditions.

Whilst the majority of Australia experienced a hot summer with above average temperatures in 2019, the southwesy corner of WA encountered quite the opposite. Temperatures for the growing season were cooler than the long-term averages. These milder conditions resulted in a delayed ripening pattern for most varieties resulting in sow flavour accumulation. With no diseas pressure, all grapes were harvested with a good balance of sugar, flavour and tannin ripeness. The resulting red wines are elegant in style displaying wonderful varietal characters.

Machine picked in mid-April 2019, these Shiraz grapes here destemmed to small 5 tonne open fermenters before being inoculated with a selected yeast isolate. The fermenting must was pumped over twice daily to extract flavour, colour and tannin. Once the right amount of extraction was achieved, the ferment must was then pressed to tank to complete primary ferment. The wine was inoculated for Malolactic Fermentaion (MLF), before being transferred to 100% French oak barriques (30% new) for maturation. The wine then spent 14 months maturing in barrel prior to blending and bottling.