Technical Details:
- The Wine
Winemaker, Mike Brown was emptying some freshly fermented white wine out of new French oak barrels. Left behind in the barrels were the remnants of yeast called “lees”. Normally the lees are emptied out before the next wine is put in.
Whilst rolling the first barrels to empty them, Mike tasted the lees and found they had extraordinary flavour. They were fluffy, crunchy, and looked very "alive" and healthy. He decided to transfer an outstanding parcel of unoaked Shiraz into the French oak barrels on top of the white lees. Over the next 36 months the experiment began to take shape, and what has evolved is an incredibly unique beast!!
The white lees have acted as a preserving agent, protecting this wine from normal aging characteristics, hence with the extraordinary quality of the 2009 vintage combined with the lees natural preserving abilities we have a wine that is truly remarkable.
- Colour
- Black with garnet hue
- Nose
- Subtle aromas of boysenberry, brambleberry, orange blossom (lees influence), chorizo sausage, chocolate, liquorice and almonds.
- Palate
- Rich and punchy. The front to mid palates exhibit bramble berry characters with hints of mint and dark chocolate. The acid and tannin structures are the stand out characters on the back palate, they create a beautifully integrated and seamless wine. The tannins are fine; dusty, and with careful cellaring they will soften over the next 10 years.
- Food
- Soft and salty cheeses, medium rare fillet steak.
- Alcohol
- 14.5%
- Cellaring
- 10+ years
- Vintage Notes
The 2009 growing season presented us with good winter and spring rains. The warm days and cool nights leading up to harvest provided us with near perfect conditions. As a result, the 2009 wines have wonderful finesse and brightness. Not cloying or over ripe they display remarkable richness and vibrancy that will see them drinking well for the next 15 years.
