2019 First Grid Shiraz
Single Vineyard | Low Impact | Vegan Friendly
Harvest:
Single block 4 shiraz planted in 1996 was picked by modern night harvesting, selecting just plump flavour-ripe, entire berries. 2019 is a warm and early-ripening vintage, 2 February, with optimal harvesting decisions producing fresh grape acids and early ripened compositional tannins.
Wine:
With mainly entire berries, and 20% whole shiraz clusters added after the crush, minimal disturbance fermentation at low temperature was practised. Low intervention winemaking continued (lo-fi) with sulphur dioxide addition only at harvest and after malo-lactic, minimal additions otherwise, unaltered wine was made; no animal-derived finings and clarity by natural sedimentation in barrel; no filtration. Fewer winemaking steps encourage silky wine texture by reduced movement.
Oak:
Dry wine from the press ran to medium grain, low toast French hogsheads, 30% new, completed malo-lactic; then lees and solids-aged for 8 months before final settling in stainless steel for integration and balance.
Low Impact:
With no extra additions save yeast and bacteria, the natural composition in the vineyard is maintained as shiraz wine; use of mixed age oak barrels, existing low tannin levels encourage earlier maturing and palate growth for immediate drinking. Without filtration this shiraz remains a living and contemporary wine.
Taste:
Moffatdale sub-region terroir, fruit spice and compote, floral aromatics, mint from the stems, savoury notes, artifacts from hands-off making, barrel nuttiness and mocha and palate mid-weight fruit create the wine. A taste which treads lightly is desired.
14% alcohol, dry, 8.3 standard drinks
Peter Scudamore-Smith | Master of Wine (1991)
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