Yarra Valley Shiraz Viognier (2008)

Region Yarra Valley

Appearance- Garnet with a purple and brick red rim.

Bouquet- Fragrant, aromatic, slightly exotic red fruits with strong graphite and white pepper characteristics.

Palate- Rich spicy fruit with dark berries. Integrated ripe tannins, structured palate, supple and complex.

Vintage Conditions- 2008 saw timely December and January rainfall followed by warm dry days and cool nights. Harvest dates were earlier than normal.

Winemaking -The Shiraz is sourced from 4 estate vineyards planted in 1971, 1987, 1990, and 1994. The Viognier is also sourced from the estate and was planted in 2000. Vines are cane pruned to 18 buds per vine and shoot thinned at the 10-15cm stage so that there are no more than15 bunches per vine. The vines are hand-picked into 8kg buckets and transported to the winery. The fruit is hand sorted and a combination of whole bunches, whole berries, and crushed fruit is gravity tipped to open fermenters. Viognier is added as fruit to a proportion of the ferments. The fruit is then allowed to ferment with ambient yeast. Both hand and foot plunging are used to gently extract color and flavor over 20 days. The grapes are pressed and settled for 24 hours before racking to the cask (10% new) for malolactic fermentation and maturation. After 10 months the wine is gravity racked and then bottled.

Wine Analysis Alc/Vol: 13.0 % pH: 3.6 TA: 6.1 g/L

Cellaring- This wine will continue to develop complexity for 8 to 10 years in a good cellar.

Suggested Cuisine- Homemade sausages with lentils.

General Characteristics – Dry Medium Bodied