Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz
This is the first release of this wine. Fruit was sourced from close-planted low yielding vines at Shaw + Smith’s Balhannah Vineyard in the central Adelaide Hills, planted in 2005. The distinctive site has always shown potential for a single site wine, and in this particular year the fruit was outstanding. It has a north-facing aspect and the soils are loam over clay, ironstone, quartzite and shale. Low yields are achieved by aggressive pruning and pre-harvest bunch thinning. 2013 was a fine growing season, with some warm days balanced by consistently cool nights. It was relatively dry and grapes ripened a touch earlier than usual. The weather leading up to harvest was also mostly dry, ensuring perfectly healthy fruit. The Shiraz was hand picked and fermented as predominantly whole bunches (70%) and the remainder whole berries, in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal intervention. No berries were harmed during the making of this wine! It was aged in 500 litre French oak puncheons for fourteen months, followed by a further fourteen months in bottle. Crimson in colour with purple at the rim. The nose is very perfumed – rose petals, dried herbs, and red berries. Initially it’s generous on the palate, with boysenberry, mulberry, and blueberry notes. Then more layers of flavour and texture reveal themselves. Some cinnamon, some fennel seed, some rhubarb; fine but firm tannins that extend the palate, accompanied throughout by fresh acidity and intense perfume.
To see our full range of Shaw and Smith product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/shaw-smith/
For more information on the Shaw and Smith winery go to https://www.shawandsmith.com/
Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz – a great wine from a top class winery
£64.00 a bottle
27 in stock
Shaw & Smith winery is run by Martin Shaw, one of the pioneering Australia’s flying winemakers, and Michael Hill-Smith, Australia’s first Master of Wine.
Growing the best possible grapes, managing vineyards sustainably, and valuing vine health, soil health, and low yields are central to their approach. In the pursuit of quality the wines are fermented, aged and bottled on site at Balhannah. The wines are vibrant, modern expressions of their varieties, their sites and the season. They own four Adelaide Hills vineyards, in Lenswood, Piccadilly, Balhannah and Lobethal.
Shaw + Smith’s first vintage was in 1990 and in 1999 they purchased a property at Balhannah, where they planted vines, and built the winery and tasting room in time for the 2000 vintage.
The Adelaide Hills is one of Australia’s most charming wine regions and home to a large number of premium wine producers. The wine history of the area is similar to many other wine regions: industry developed after the first plantings in the 1840s, only to struggle for economic survival as consumer tastes changed with resurgence in the 1970s – most notably Brian Croser with Petaluma. Today it is very much a boutique vineyard and winery region that is pitching for quality and winning awards. This region has the coolest climate of all South Australian wine regions. Nestled in the Hills, its climate influenced by altitude (350m to 700m) and winds from the St Vincents Gulf. Main wine styles: White – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling; Red – Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz.
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