Ripe dry grown Shiraz was hand picked at 13 Be' on the 3rd March.

It was crushed, destemmed and pumped to tank. The ferment started with wild yeasts and continued at about 30C until the ferment proceeded through 6 Be'.

The skins were drained, basket pressed and the juice returned to an open fermenter under the verandah. The ferment continued until the carbon dioxide gas production slowed.

Once the sugar level was low the wine was pumped to oak barriques with a little yeast lees for underground cellaring and maturation.

After 20 months the wine was bottled with natural cork.

The wine had no clarification or filtering. Alcohol - 13 % pH 3.6  Residual Sugar less than 0.5 g/L

SO2, less than 45 ppm total in 2009.

Food - Grilled red meats with a rich wine sauce with vegetables. Fantastic!

Serving - This wine is specifically made to mature in the bottle. It will develop greater complexity and integration of flavour for 5 years or more under correct cellaring conditions.

"This is a very good follow up to the 2004 which I rated highly. Its been given the full treatment with wild yeast fermentation and then 20 months in a combination of American and French oak. Lifted spicy frangrances merge into the rich savoury dark plum aromas. On the palate the tannins are firm and assertive but the palate soft and generous. Nice wine in the short term." Ray Jordan 2010.

Extract tannins and tartrates are not removed at the time of bottling, as it is these elements that contribute to the flavour and settle as a crust in the bottle over time.

To fully appreciate the style, we advocated careful decanting before serving. Stand the bottle upright for a minimum of three hours prior to opening, even longer if possible, so as to settle the sediment. Being careful not to disturb the crust, if any, pull the cork and pour the wine into a decanter in one continuous movement with minimum disturbance to the flow. You may choose to use a light or a candle underneath the bottle to see when the sediment reaches the bottle neck. Decanting allows the wine to breathe – stimulating and enlivening the wine by exposing it to the air. Serve from the decanter, or “double decant” by pouring the clear wine back into the bottle, having first rinsed it out with water.