St Hallett Old Block Shiraz 2009
The palate is bright, vibrant and layered. The fruit shows great depth and restrained power with prevailing elegance. The old vines show themselves in the complexity and texture with fine grain tannins providing precise structure. The palate is long and finishes with dense dark fruits.
$588.00
67 in stock
Colour: Ruby red with an attractive purple hue.
Bouquet: Lifted floral spice with fresh red fruits and early picked blackberry.
Cellaring: Those with the patience to cellar it will be rewarded with 2009 expected to drink well to at least 2029
Food: Aged beef, venison or slow roasted lamb
The Vintage: Good rain during a cool December alleviated irrigation needs and proved valuable with two bursts of heat in mid and late January. Mild days and cool nights followed and allowed steady ripening and flavour development. The first Shiraz was picked in the second week of February 2009, showing good colour and ripeness. The majority of Barossa Valley Shiraz was harvested through late-February to mid-March displaying trademark richness of colour and flavour along with great balance of ripeness, acidity and tannin. Eden Valley Shiraz experienced perfect conditions to develop wines through mid-late March, with great fragrance, richness and structure. Eden Valley Shiraz was among the strongest wines from 2009.
The Vineyards: St Hallett endorses the Barossa old vine charter and all vineyards that contribute to Old Block are classified as ’Old Vine’. With some vineyards dating back to 1906, Old Block pays homage to these invaluable living tributes to the history of the region. Low yielding and on own roots, these vines delve deep into multiple layers of soil and speak volumes of the place they are grown. Vineyards are located in Barossa Valley and Eden Valley from a range of loyal growers.
The Vinification: The St Hallett winemaking philosophy is relative simple – minimise intervention and maximise attention. For old Block Shiraz the focus is on keeping freshness, purity and seamless structure. Each vineyard is vinified separately and typically each parcel has skin contact for be- tween nine and 12 days. The pump over regime is tailored to the individual vineyard parcel. Post-pressing, the wines spend 24 hours in stainless steel before going to barrel for malo-lactic fermentation. Barrels are matched to each parcel to promote harmony and balance during maturation. French and American Oak is used with a mixture of new, second and third use barrels. All barrels are individually assessed at final blending to ensure absolute quality.
The Inspiration: Old vines are one of the region’s finest assets and are the keepers of its history. Each vine tells a story in the gnarled trunks and through the beautiful fruit it produces each year.
Technical Information:
Alcohol: 14.5%
pH: 3.49
Titratable acidity: 6.5 g/L
