$38.00
MEMBER: $30.40
A particularly spicy, fragrant and pretty Shiraz, this year entirely from the PT23 clone. It has lots of stem, roast meat and chocolate character but also a lovely fleshiness.
Gold Medal, NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show 2018
Gold Medal, Canberra & Region Wine Show 2018
That moment when you realise that $38 is an absolute steal. This is a fabulous shiraz in anyone’s language, its spice-ridden heart alive with perfectly ripened, well set, powerful cherry-plum fruit. It’s struck with tannin in the best of ways, it has real personality, and its finish is textbook quality. 96 points. (Campbell Mattinson)
holds the drinker’s interest from the first sip to the last drop. First impressions are of spice and savour, both in the aroma and palate. But sweet, vibrant fruit pushes through the charcuterie-like savour and spice, while fine tannins give satisfying grip and structure. (Chris Shanahan)
SHIRAZ
Shiraz has become the leading variety of the Canberra District, and our confidence in its future at Mount Majura Vineyard had grown so much that we expanded our plantings by grafting, back in 2004. These vines first contributed to the blend with the 2007 vintage, and include clones Best’s Old Block (fragrant, quite mineral) and 1127 (richer, more chocolatey tannins) along with the original planting (PT23, blackberry and pepper). In 2017, only the PT23 clone was used for this wine.
2017 VINTAGE
The 2016-2017 growing season started with a wet winter and cool spring, resulting in later growth but strong canopies from all the moisture. The summer was particularly hot, with consistently high temperatures from late December to late February, but then switched into a perfect, mild autumn with sunny days, cool nights and little rain. Crops were larger than expected, accordingly taking longer to ripen, but having perfect conditions to do it in. In contrast to some recent years, ripening of different varieties was well spread apart, so that vintage was measured and controlled (leisurely would be going too far!). There are bright fresh flavours in the earlier varieties, with increasing depth, colour and detail in those ripening later.
WINEMAKING
Hand picked 20 April 2017, at 12.9Bé and fermented in open vats with hand plunging, leaving on average 27% as whole bunches. Matured in French oak barriques (17% new), unfined and lightly filtered. Bottled January 2018, 397 dozen made. Alcohol 13.5% by volume. Vegan friendly?: Yes.
CELLARING GUIDE
Drink now to 2037.
The first shiraz vintage (2002) was under cork, screwcap clearly gives the wines longer life. Wines were tasted from the winery museum. If your cellaring conditions are less than ideal, consider reducing the expected life of the wine. Tasted May 2018.
| Vintage | Tasting Notes | Drink Until | Rating |
| 2015 | Purple-red. Wonderfully aromatic and complex with pepper, musky, creamy blackberry, spicy fruit and iodine. Lush dark fruits on the palate, grainy long tannin. Gorgeous. Similarities to ’05 and ’09. | 2038 | Outstanding |
| 2014 | Deep medium red. Dried herbs and restrained fruit. Taut, earthy and a little rustic. | 2026 | Very good |
| 2013 | Very deep purple-red. Rich fruitcake, ripe aromas with soy and game. Big and full and overall a bit boofy. Similarities to 2008. | 2031 | Excellent |
| 2012 | Deep purple-red. Has lost some fruit and dusty pyrazine/vegetal character now dominates. Distinctive and enjoyable but likely to polarise. | 2023 | Very good |
| 2011 | Good deep red. Some gaminess at first but opening to pepper, red fruits and herbs, complex and interesting. Perhaps a touch of hardness, but overall complex and lovely with very good length. | 2028 | Excellent |
| 2010 | Medium red. Intense aromas of blackcurrant and smoky, dusty spice. Red berries, black pastille and plum on the palate, bright and clear. Some good development, but lots of future. | 2030 | Excellent |
| 2009 | Deep black-red. Intense and complex with a spiced fruit, dusty leather and earth. Loads of interest, juicy, fine and plush, coiled and taut but full. A silky favourite. | 2030 | Outstanding |
| 2008 | Deep dark red. A dense and powerful wine with ripe dark fruit and hints of game. Plush and rich with freshness and youth. | 2028 | Excellent |
| 2007 | Medium red with slight brick edge. Sweet fruit with dried herbs and woodspice, some oak still visible. The palate is slightly firm. | 2023 | Excellent |
| 2006 | Deep red with slight brick edges. Still has good fruit but also quite savoury and vegetal character. Fresh fruit on the palate but sandy and somewhat astringent. | 2021 | Good |
| 2005 | Dark black/red. Lots of aromatic intensity and developed complexity with blackcurrant, damp earth, smoky undergrowth, roast meat. Wonderful chewy, grippy, grainy texture. A gorgeous mature wine to some, slightly too savoury for others. | 2023 | Outstanding |
| 2004 | Dark black/red. Aromatic and attractive with sweet, spiced ripe fruit, woodspice, cigar box, musky blueberry, chocolate and vanilla. Soft sweet fruit, plush and fine, the finish firmish and this is the only reservation. | 2025 | Excellent |
| 2003 | Dense black/red. Lots of dark primary fruit still, very ripe with earth, integrated oak, raspberry, musky, marzipan and toast. Still youthful, but somewhat firm and austere. | 2028 | Very good |
| 2002 | Red/brick colour. Intense aromas of dusty leather, red fruit, liquorice, earth and mulberry. Fully mature but attractive. Soft and plush with sweet fruit, fine tannins and lovely balance. A really lovely, complex old red. | Now | Very good |
