Australia is known for a few things, one of those being their incredible take on our favourite Rhone valley grape, Syrah. Australian Shiraz is known for being bold full of rich gamey notes and taking the well known peppery notes of Syrah to the next level. An all round upgrade for those who like big reds. This bad boy is no different.
This wine was sourced from wonderful vineyards in the Frankland River region of Western Australia. The fruit from individual vineyard batches were picked in the cool of night and fermented separately between 24-26 C for 12 days with extended skin contact to optimise flavours, colour and tannin profile. Individual batches were barrel aged for an additional 14 months, and then classified and blended. The final rustic addition of 5% Tempranillo has rounded the blend off beautifully.
There's a cool-climate Syrah character here: don't think the rich density of Barossa or McLaren Vale, but more northern Rhône, the fruit steering a course somewhere between red and black with a lovely savoury touch of pepper, and with a lovely, velvety texture and refreshing acidity. Really excellently done.