The Vineyard
Andy Kalleske grows our Cemetery Vineyard Shiraz.
Site location: Ebenezer – Barossa Valley
Map coordinates: -34.400246,139.001391
Clone: 1654
Planted: 1998
Rows: 25 to 28
Elevation: 280 meters
Aspect: North West facing
Harvest: 19th February 2015
Tonnes: 2.07T
Soil: Clay loam topsoil over deep red clay and ironstone - the ancient tight red clays restrict vine growth, increasing the intensity of flavour and colour in the fruit.
The Winemaking
Picked in the cool of the morning and gently destemmed to preserve whole berries.
Fermented in an open top tank with a light hand plunge two to three times daily.
Basket pressed directly to oak with three weeks’ barrel fermentation followed by 10 months’ maturation in oak - 80% French, 20% American, with 20% new oak.
Unfined, unfiltered and vegan.
Bottled on 15th February 2016, 141 dozen produced.
The Wine
Never on the shy side, the Cemetery Shiraz bears all. Rich and concentrated, dried fig, blackberry, blackcurrant and cinnamon. The palate is velvety and smooth with pops of red current. Dark and bold, yet elegant and feminine, she is all power and soul.
Drinking: Ready now or cellar to 2030, perhaps beyond.
Alcohol: 15% alc/vol
RRP: $39
Release: Oct 2016
Reviews
95 points - James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
93 points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front.
93 points - Huon Hooke