The Shiraz vines were planted by my Grandfather, Rufus Armein Heidenreich in 1942, in Vine Vale, Barossa Valley. This area of vineyard is located along the Eastern edge of the Barossa Valley, which was one of the first areas settled in the 1840’s due to its fertile, deep sandy, loam soils and water-holding capacity, in non-irrigated vineyards. The gully breeze that is prevalent in this area helps keep grapes cool during the hot ripening season, and retains natural acidity and freshness.
2018
Barossa Valley Shiraz
The Barossa Valley Shiraz is bright and vibrant. Aromas of plums and blackberries with a medium to full palate with dense blue fruits and some lovely spice and richness. The finish has long fine tannins with lovely cassis mocha flavours.
| ALCOHOL | 14.1% |
|---|---|
| BOTTLED | May 2020 |
| ACIDITY | 7.0 g/L |
| P/H | 3.39 |
| RESIDUAL SUGAR | 0.56 g/L |
The
Vines
The
Vintage
January and February of 2018, had some long hot days of above average duration. During this time, some of the vines in the region slowed down the ripening process as a means of vine self-preservation.
It took time for ripening to pick up the pace, but more moderate weather in late February and March provided perfect ripening conditions, particularly with Barossa Shiraz, showing great colour and flavour.
The
Winemaking
The Shiraz was harvested in late March, in the coolest part of the morning. The fruit was destemmed and transferred into a 3 tonne open top fermenter. The must was inoculated and fermented on skins for 12 days. It was plunged 2 times a day for tannin and colour extraction, without over working the cap to avoid bitter seed tannins.
After alcoholic fermentation, the must was pressed off to French oak Hogshead for malolactic fermentation. The wine was matured in 30% new French oak, with the remainder 2nd and 3rd use oak, for 18 months before being bottled.
