Reserve 2009 Shiraz

“Deep crimson, bright; a lively and highly polished wine, showing pure blackberry aromas and a touch of lilac; the medium-bodied palate is generous and lively with ample tannins and toasty oak to conclude.” - 94 points,  Halliday Wine Companion

Power and restraint combined. The palate has great flesh, and is generous and rich whilst simultaneously taut, long and firm.

Colour

Dark garnet.

Tasting Notes

A dark garnet hue leads to a bouquet of plums, cherries, violets and classic black pepper and earthy spiciness; the hallmark of great Pyrenees Shiraz.  The time spent in carefully selected small French and Hungarian oak adds delightful hints of mocha and cedar, and the bottle ageing in our own cellars improved the already silky integration of the fruit and oak components, creating a wine of wonderful grace and understated power and sophistication.  A sweet, complex array of berries combine with subtle exotic spices that meld seamlessly with smoky coffee and dark chocolate, wrapped around something substantial and satisfying, yet hard to define.

Food Matching

 Perfect with a wide range of meats, games and stews.  Osso buco, beef wellington, roasts or any juicy well flavoured dish will work with the 2009 Resreve Shiraz.

Cellaring

Already aged in oak for two years and carefully for cellared for another twelve years, it is superb drining now but will easily handle another 10 years or more.

Winemaking

Fermented on skins for eight to ten days in traditional, small open top fermenters, the fruit was gently hand plunged to maximise aroma and flavour, without excessive tannin extraction.  Pressings and Free Run were combined, and the wine was transferred to old and new French, American and Hungarian oak Hogsheads (300 litres).

After 15 months maturation, two barrels from the first crop of the ‘Bests’ clone Shiraz were blended with two hogsheads from the rich and concentrated original ‘old vines’ Shiraz plantings.  This wine was aged for a further ten months in barrel before racking, blending, and bottling in November 2011, and then matured for a further 18 months prior to release.   Only 130 cases of this very special wine were created.

Technical Details