Miles from Nowhere Margaret River Shiraz 2019

2019 vintage started later than usual with reds picking in April and early May. This was due to lower than average temperatures during the months prior to harvest. The mild and cooler weather was quite beneficial to the ripening process of the reds, allowing a long stint of tannin ripening. Only the most balanced fruit from various sites across the Margaret River wine region make the cut for this blend. Crushed and de-stemmed into stainless steel tanks with gentle maceration techniques for perfect colour extraction and pressing off skins before completion of primary fermentation to keep a soft and balanced tannin profile. Post fermentation the wine was matured in French oak for 12 months.

The Colonial Estate Explorateur Barossa Valley Shiraz 2018

The vineyards that make up Explorateur are based in the northwestern Barossa Valley. This is a belt of land/terroir that runs from just to the northwest of Tanunda – Marananga, Greenock, Moppa, Ebenezer, and through to Stockwell, just north of Nuriootpa. Cropping levels are kept low to ensure fruit flavour is focus. The same equipment that is accorded to our more expensive wines is made available to Explorateur. Fermentation is French in approach for up to two thirds of the wine made; the rest is vinified in a more Australian way.

Normans Old Vine Barossa Valley Shiraz 2018

The wine was fermented in small stainless steel fermentors to retain concentrated fruit flavours. To complete the fermentation process and maturation the wine went into mostly old oak barrels with a small percentage of new oak for a period of 12 months. This enabled the oak flavour from the barrels to slowly infiltrate the highly concentrated fruit flavour creating a well balanced yet complex tannin structure. Another stunning Barossa vintage with lower yields but high-quality fruit ensuring it was our selected location for this year’s release.

Limb Single Vineyard Barossa Valley Shiraz 2018

Winter rains gave the vines a great start to the 2018 growing season. A warm and dry spring then early summer was relatively mild, resulting in good flowering and fruit set. The dry conditions continued with several heat spikes in late January and early February meaning the vines went dormant and this interrupted veraison, with the picking of some of my earlier ripening vineyards delayed until the beginning of March. Perfect, mild ripening weather followed to the end of April. Time will be the judge but i suggest 2018 has produced another stunning Barossa vintage with Shiraz my stand out variety.

1838 Reserve Shiraz 2020

Fruit was sourced from several well-known growers in South Australia from what was another great vintage in terms of quality although yields were down across the region. The different sites allowed us to pick the fruit over a extended period allowing each vineyard to develop differing characters to compliment each other and also allowed us at the winery to treat the parcels individually in small ferments with longer than usual skin contact, which is always ideal. The result is an outstanding wine with obvious time and care taken with it throughout the vinification process. This wine was fermented warm and received pump overs on a daily basis during fermentation. Aged in primarily old 2-3 year old oak to add another level of complexity without over powering the fruit. 

Normans Chais Clarendon McLaren Vale Shiraz 2016

Fermented in stainless steel, small volume fermentors to maintain strong fruit flavour from skins. Hand plunged twice daily for seven days then transferred into American and French oak barrels for the remainder of ferment then spent 14 months to allow full flavour development.