Varietal	99% Shiraz, 1% Viognier
Closure	Screw Cap	Size	750ml
Alc/Vol	13.5%	Enjoy	Now - 2020
The 2007 Shelmerdine Heathcote Shiraz – co-fermented with 1% Viognier; vibrant red with purple tinges, an indication of the impressive concentration of aromas and flavours to come. The nose is redolent with dark berries, red fruits, cherries and spice; all the best of Christmas. The palate is a perfect balance of fruit, savoury notes, fine long tannins and acid. It does not have excessive ripeness, extraction or oak. The fruit for this wine is grown from two vineyards at opposite ends of the Heathcote region; Merindoc Vineyard at Tooborac in the south, and the Willoughby Bridge Vineyard at Colbinabbin in the north. Merindoc Vineyard, with gravelly, low fertility ironstone soils provides minerality, structure and a cooler climate. Willoughby Bridge Vineyard is planted on the renowned Cambrian rich red dirt, one of the oldest soil types in Australia and renowned for the production of intensely flavoured Shiraz. Another warm and dry vintage gave us low yields of concentrated flavours. After hand-picking, the separate fruit parcels were given a short pre-fermentation cold soak before being crushed and open fermented at warm temperatures. The wine was hand-plunged twice daily during its six-day ferment to extract the desired levels of colour and flavour. After ferment the individual wines were pressed off into new and second year French oak barrels, for 13 months before blending and bottling under screwcapin April 2008.
What the critics think
2007 – “Lifted blueberry bouquet with elements of mint, oak and slightly dusty complexity; the palate is very firm, with an abundance of tannin and acid; a complex wine that needs time to fully integrate, and especially for the tannin to soften.” Rating 94 points. James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion - 2010
2006 – “Medium-bodied; outstanding texture and structure are drivers of the wine, with appealing red and black fruits filling the mid-palate.” Rating 94 points. James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion - 2009
2006 –“Tasty stuff. It’s not over the top, but there’s plenty of guts here, with an attractive mix of red and blackberried fruit flavours, good tannin, a twist of eucalypt and the odd twiggy, herbal, complex note. The acid seemed a little twangy (Walsh’s word) when we tried it, but that should have settle down by now. It’s a good, well balanced red.” Rating: 92 points Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh - The Big Red Wine Book - 2009/10
2006-“Attractive pepper spice with black cherry and blackberry fruit aromas; a scent of wet cherry wood. Attacks with slick and juicy fruit though and builds dusty, almost Tuscan type tannins. The fruit is mouth-watering, with juice and tang, and the finish is sapid with whole meal raisin toast mouth-aromas. Smart savoury stuff.” Rating 94 points Tim White – Australian Financial Review - Wine – Jan 2009