PRE-VINTAGE
RAINFALL: Winter (consistent) | Spring (above average).
TEMPERATURE: Mild Spring and early Summer | No extreme heat.
UPSHOT: Consistent flowering & fruit set | Healthy canopy
VINTAGE
RAINFALL: Summer (below average) | Autumn (light).
TEMPERATURE: Days (mild - average) | Nights (cool).
UPSHOT: Delayed ripening conditions | Gradual & extended flavour accumulation | Great natural acidity.
SEPPELTSFIELD VINEYARD
BLOCK: D Block
VINEYARD: Very shallow red clay loam overlying shattered limestone | North-south oriented rows | Elevated Eastern aspect | Long, even sunlight.
UPSHOT: Reduced natural vine vigour
De-stemmed | 10-12 days on skins | Open pump-overs
Basket pressed | French oak (60% new, 40% seasoned)
Natural malolactic fermentation | 22 months maturation.
PROFI LE: Mulberry | Cedar | Blackberry | Vanilla bean.
TEXTURE: Fine grained tannin | Well-structured | Integrated oak.
97 POINTS, THE VINTAGE JOURNAL
Deep crimson. Intense dark chocolate cedar, black berry aromas with hits of wax polish. Beautifully balanced wine with pure blackberry pastille fruits, velvety form tannins and underlying roasted chestnut, cedar notes. Finishes Claret-firm with minerally notes. A beastly good Barossa Shiraz with very good ageing potential. Drink 2028–2042.
Andrew Caillard MW, Ken Gargett
96 POINTS, HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION
Shiraz from D block on the Hentley Farm estate in the western Barossa, destemmed and aged in French oak (60% new, 40% seasoned) for 22 months. Bright magenta-splashed crimson with a heady array of beautifully plush blueberry, blackberry and dark plum fruits. Hints of baking spices, cedar, vanilla pod, licorice, dark chocolate, citrus blossom, tobacco and roasting meats. Pure and opulent from woah-to-go. Travels with harmony and latent power and is backed by super-compact, silty tannins and fine mineral focus. A wine and winery in fantastic form.
Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
