Wine Note

Estate produced from our stony soils of Gimblett Road, this Rhone style Syrah shows deep ruby colour, berry fruits and black pepper.  A finely textured wine displaying good acid, elegant fruit and long dry finish after 15 months ageing in French and American oak.

Alcohol Content

13%

Harvest

Individual lots were hand harvested from our Gimblett Road Vineyard.  The fruit was picked primarily on flavour concentration.

Vinification

The individual parcels of fruit were selected and processed separately.  The grapes were destemmed and crushed into red fermenters.  The must was inoculated with yeast and fermented on skins for 9 - 12 days.  Some batches were left on skins after fermentation before pressing off.  Some batches completed fermentation in barrel.  After pressing, the wine was inoculated with lactic acid bacteria and completed malo-lactic fermentation.  On completion the wine was racked, sulphured, pH adjusted and matured in French oak barriques for 15 months.  Just prior to bottling the wine was lightly fined with eggwhites and filtered.

Composition

100% Syrah

Barrel Percentage

New 2000 Barrels 39% 
One, two and three year old barrels 61% 

Bottling

The wine was bottled on the 25 September 2001.

Sensory

Colour:  Deep and intense red/inky colour with a ruby red hue. 
Aroma:  An intense and complex aroma of ripe black peppers and spice.  Fragrant oak with tar / licorice overtones. 
Palate:  Sweet ripe fruit flavours.  Full bodied wine, rounded with firm tannins and integrated cedar and tar oak characters.  Soft silky tannins on the finish which linger in the aftertaste.

Cellaring

Ready to drink now but will continue to develop and complex in the bottle over the next 5 - 7 years.