'Over The Hill' Shiraz (cellar door reserved stock)
2004

This is a terrific, gutsy, big red. Colour is a deep burgundy/black with abouquet redolent of Morello cherries, blackcurrant and spice. Under all this a duskyoak scent, complexed by chocolate and eucalyptus characters. These primary fruit flavours are all evident on the palate, which is a mouth-filling concoction of rich berry fruit, pepper, and more chocolate. A hint of aniseed appears amongst the spice and subtle oak characters. Rich, flavoursome and full-bodied the palate is complex and long-lasting, with delightfully smooth tannins rounding out the finish.

The Vintage

The fruit for this classic Shiraz came from what we believe to be are some of the oldest vines in the district - planted over one hundred and forty years ago in the
1860's. The vines are located in our 'Home Block', about 5 kilometres east of the township of McLaren Vale. Planted long before mechanical pruning and harvesting could even be imagined, they were originally set out as low-growing 'bush vines', with short, stout red-gum posts. Many of these can still be found in the vineyard today, dwarfed alongside the permapine posts and two-wire trellis that tower above them. Vintage 2004 was a kind one in the McLaren Vale region, with good winter rains leading up to a long, mild and protracted ripening season. The grapes were machine harvested at the end of March, yielding small bunches of tightly packed little berries of intense flavour and inky black colour. Aiming for a full-bodied wine style, we allowed the fruit to fully ripen before harvest.

Vinification

The fruit was received at the winery at around 14.5° Baume and crushed
immediately, with the juice allowed to steep on skins before pressing.
Fermentation on skins was carried out for around seven days, with the wine then being despatched to a combination of new and prior-use French and American oak hogsheads for extended maturation. The individual barrels were then assessed and the finished wine blended before bottling in June 2005.

Technical

Alcohol by volume; 15.0% v/v
pH; 3.42
Titratable Acid; 6.2 g/L
Varieties; 100% Shiraz
Geographical Indication; McLaren Vale, South Australia

Awards and Accolades

View all awards

2004 Shiraz, 93 points 2008 Edition: James Halliday Wine Companion View Editorial EDITORIAL: Medium bodied; more distinctly McLaren Vale, with dark chocolate running right through the wine; does show the higher alcohol, and is fractionally warmer in consequence; nonetheless still well within medium bodied bounderies, and has very good black fruits on the back palate and finish. Cork. 15% alc. To 2020

2004 Shiraz, Premium Gold Medal Wine Style For Asia Awards 2006 EDITORIAL:

Availability

Very limited cellar door reserved stock.