2008 Reserve Shiraz – MAGNUM (1500ml)

$195.00

2008 “Reserve”  Shiraz  –  1.5 Ltr Magnum

Tasting notes

Made from Mt Barker shiraz in an exceptional year; the fruit was fermented and then left in contact with the skins for a total of 25 days to complex the wines tannin and achieve a balanced structure.

Matured in 100% new French barriques, for a total of 18 months prior to bottling in March 2009.

Appearance

Strong and rich violets and purples with hints of red.

Aroma

Subtle hints of vanilla and spice play background to the rich aromatics of red fruits and violets.

Palate

Strong impact and great depth of flavour are the initial sensations with this wine; as the wine opens the rich fruit becomes more refined and the palate lengthens giving more enjoyment. The balance between fruit and oak becomes more complex releasing the vanilla and spice.

A wine for a special occasion and well suited to strongly flavoured dishes.

Cellaring: This wine will cellar for 10+ years and will repay the patience.

NOTE: This wine being bottled into a 1.5Lt Magnum, expect the wine to show well for quite some years to come.

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Vintage comments 2008

To date, (Dec) the lead in to the 2008 harvest has been a bit confusing; Budburst which “normally” occurs in late August to early September took effect in late July in what was a rather warm and dry June/July/August period. This immediately gave the impression that we were in for a second early harvest in a row.

September and early October then turned very cold and wet leaving growers wondering if Mother Nature was trying to correct what had happened earlier.

At present vine growth is very even especially in cane pruned varieties with good inflorescences indicating, for now at least; that there will be good average levels of fruit available. It is still too early to assess potential wine quality but the thinking winemaker is planning for an early harvest.

January and February were both pleasant and warm; a bit of cloud cover in February caused small outbreaks of powdery mildew but were basically trouble free. Harvesting was underway by the last day of Feb – 29th – and aside from just the one downpour around the first weekend in April was virtually over by the second week. This trouble free and quick ripening period has contributed to what will be remembered as one of the better vintages in the great southern. Intense flavour and colour in the reds and wonderful balance of flavour in the whites. Certainly a vintage you can consume early and bottle mature for many years to come.