Description
2015 Yangarra Estate McLaren Vale Shiraz
Shiraz from our estate vineyard adopts more of a cooler climate expression than the typical McLaren Vale style thanks to the vineyard’s elevation and cooling night breezes from the nearby Southern Lofty Ranges, but retains concentration and complexity.
Vineyard Information: Shiraz adopts a very different form at Yangarra than the typical McLaren Vale style, and is more akin to the cooler climate styles. Our single vineyard estate has twelve individual blocks of Shiraz. Each block is defined by different aspects and subtle variations of the sand and Ironstone soils that overlie the ancient North Maslin Sands geological formation.
Winemaking Information: Shiraz was harvested at night and received by way of a belt elevator (rather than a screw-hopper which macerates the skins) and only de-stemmed. Whole berries were double sorted before going into open-top fermenters. We cold-soaked the fermentation tanks for 5-6 days until the onset of wild-fermentation, utilising the yeasts that naturally come in with the grapes from the vineyard. The open fermenters underwent a careful regime of plunging and rack and returns. The wine was then sent to French barriques after about 12-14 days and kept on the yeast lees prior to blending. The wine received no fining, just filtration.
Vintage Report: The 2015 growing season was full of extremes; hail early in December, a heat wave in January and some heavy rain in February. March was near perfect, allowing the grape maturation to finish just as we would like. Having said that, other than very small yields, the vineyard has weathered this storm amazingly well. Timing is critical; with picking often occurring slightly earlier than usual to retain brightness and freshness that we expect from our estate.
Alc/vol: 14.5%
Estate fruit, 50% whole berries, a portion of whole bunches, wild ferment and aged in French oak 25% new for 17 months. Excellent dark-purple hue; succulent and velvety texture with some power to the chiselled tannins, savoury yet pristine fruit the key.
Drink by 2032Jane Faulkner
Estate-grown, 50% whole berries, 25% whole bunches cold soaked, open-fermented, wild yeast, matured in French oak (25% new) for 13 months. Everything falls into place, the design of the jigsaw puzzle taking shape post haste. McLaren Vale fruit essence, with black fruits and potent dark chocolate looking as much to the sky as the earth, the whole bunch elements adding a twist to the main design, eloquent tannins also making a significant contribution.
Drink by 2034
