No expense spared, nor have any short cuts been taken in making my Reserve McLaren Vale Shiraz wine.
The fruit for this wine is sourced from a famous patch of dirt in Blewitt Springs, which is a sub region of McLaren Vale located out the back of the district. This iconic 74 year old vineyard produces only 2.5 tonnes per acre of prize fruit which is fought over by the district's winemakers each year.
Starting life in the winery in an open top fermenter, then ‘must’ is hand shovelled into a basket press to be seasoned in 40% new to 60% old, large (Puncheon) oak barrels. After 18 months of maturation, each barrel is individually judged and selected to make the cut for my 'Reserve' label. When I select the individual barrels, I am looking for a compact powerful palate with a tight focus and superb structure backed by firm tannins.
So the major difference from my standard McLaren Vale Shiraz is that I have honestly held back my best Shiraz from 2016 and bottle aged it for an additional 6 months prior to release to create this Reserve label. Upon release, having been aged for 24 months in total, all the hard work has been done, ready to reward the “impatient” wine collector. However, it will confidently cellar for 8-12 years. Feel free to aerate it or just give it a good splash as you pour it.
My Reserve Shiraz demonstrates not only typical regional charm and definitive varietal fruit flavour, but also embodies the finest of 18 years of winemaking. It is a bold, heavy, full bodied Shiraz that offers enough structure to hold any dinner conversation.If you are thinking about food pairing; - as we are talking about a full-bodied red, and big bold flavours, the wine will do well with bold dishes such as Pork Shoulder from the slow cooker with some fennel.
Please share or leave your questions and comments below and follow me if you wish to keep up to date with my latest wine ramblings.
Enjoy the Unconventional, -JP