2004 ADW Alliance McLaren Vale Shiraz

The 2004 Alliance Shiraz is only the fifth release of this label and we believe it continues the successful progression of the fruit driven, flavour first style that is synonymous with the Alliance label.

From the 2004 vintage our winemaker is Andrew Braithwaite who has also had significant experience at d'Arenberg Wines and Classic McLaren Wines. Andrew has a great understanding of McLaren Vale as a region from both a grape growing and winemaking perspective.

The fruit for the 2004 release is 100% from the outstanding Mark Wood Old Estate Vineyard located on the beautifully elevated rises of McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide . Shiraz from this vineyard and region is known for richness of flavour and softness of tannins which create wines of smoothe drinkabilty even in their youth. 2004 was an outstanding vintage in South Australia with all premier regions recording excellent ripeness levels.

After picking at optimum ripeness it was gently crushed and given a long cool fermet in open vat fermenters. Post fermentation the must was pressed out and the wine was matured in mix of new and mainly second year French and American Oak Barriques for approximately 20 months. Given the excellent weight of fruit it was decided that the wine could cope with this little extra time in oak.

The resultant wine shows dark, sweet, spicy-berry fruit with firmly structured oak to support this. There are hints of black cherry/plum layered there also. Given the next 3-6 years in the bottle this Shiraz will darken and sweeten to become more and complex and as the oak integrates it will show hints of leather and chocolate evolving around the spiced-fruit centre. At 15% alc/vol this is not a light wine and will satisfy those wine drinkers looking for weight and flavour.

This the fourth release of a 100% Clare Valley Shiraz under the Barletta label. After the monster 2002 vintage the 2003appears relatively more subdued at a still healthy 15% alcohol.

This wine was part of the eleventh consecutive vintage of Barletta reds being made by us at Neil Pike’s outstanding Polish Hill River Winery.

It is a delightfully aromatic, lifted red showing vibrant Clare Shiraz with a plently of spiced fruit balanced by natural Clare acid and a ripe but firm and fine tannin grip.

A decision was made again in 2003, as the case with 2001 and 2002, to source a combination of fruit from younger vines off the same prime site as a parcel of older vines we source from north of the Clare township. The combination appears well founded. As with all of the Barletta reds the fruit was crushed, fermented and matured at Pikes then bottled and matured off-site. The over-riding philosophy was to make a wine that was supple whilst maintaining fruitfulness rather than tannic structure. This was partly achieved through the use of mainly 2-3 year old American and French Oak barriques and hogheads with the emphasis on the latter.

The overall result out of 2003 is a wine with fine intensity and sweet fruit concentration that is not in the least cloying or over the top. The balance of this wine is impressive and shows a very Rhone like flavour weight and finish.

2001 Barletta Clare Valley Grenache

Clare Grenache out of the 2001 vintage shows an intense, almost shiraz like power with it's delicious varietal integrity. In fact 2001 is the first release of a purely 100% Grenache under this label.

Fruit for this wine was sourced from very low yielding, 35+year old, dry grown, bush-vine Grenache. The vineyard is the ‘Home Block' on the Stanley Flat property known as Flatview. It wa sat the time owned by outstanding Clare growers Rosemary and Graham Pulford. Yields off this vineyard rarely surpassed 1.5 tonnes to the acre.

As with previous and current Barletta wines the complete fermentation and maturation process was completed under the watchful eye of close friend and well known Clare producer Neil Pike at his Polish Hill River Winery.

A very small portion of new French Oak was used in the nearly 24 month maturation of this wine. It is our preferred position not to use too much new oak with Grenache to allow it's aromatic and textural characters free expression. A mix of mainly 2 nd and some 3 rd year French and American Oak were used for the larger part of the maturation. A minimal filtering philosophy is maintained.

The wine shows spiced perfume, with a warm juicy red berry sweetness on the palate and a touch of rich earthiness and game that is balanced by fine natural tannin and acid. A big mouthful of robust Clare flavours.

Alcohol: 14.9%
Specific Gravity: 0.9937
Volatile Acidity: 0.85 g/L
Titratable Acid: 6.3 g/L
SO2-Free/Total: 15/52 mg/L
Residual Sugar: 1.7 g/L
pH: 3.54

2003 Barletta Clare Valley Grenache

Clare Grenache out of the 2003 vintage shows an elegant intensity and smoothness of palate that is quite delightful . The 2003 is only the third release of a purely 100% Grenache under this label.

Fruit for this wine was sourced from very low yielding, 35+year old, dry grown, bush-vine Grenache. The vineyard is the ‘Home Block’ on the Stanley Flat property known as Flatview. It was at the time owned by outstanding Clare growers Rosemary and Graham Pulford. Yields off this vineyard rarely surpassed 1.5 tonnes to the acre.

As with previous and current Barletta wines the complete fermentation and maturation process was completed under the watchful eye of close friend and well known Clare producer Neil Pike at his Polish Hill River Winery.

A very small portion of new French Oak was used in the nearly 24 month maturation of this wine. It is our preferred position not to use too much new oak with Grenache to allow it’s aromatic and textural characters free expression. A mix of mainly 2nd and some 3rd year French and American Oak were used for the larger part of the maturation. A minimal filtering philosophy is maintained.

The wine shows a lifted and perfumed nose of raspberry and spice, with a deep, warm juicy red berry sweetness on the palate and a touch of earth and game that is reflective of our Clare Gtrenache style.

This wine is the ninth release of our Clare Valley blend and the only one to reflect the addition of the classic Rhone varietal Mourvedre (aka in Australia as Mataro). The 2001 vintage shows the more lifted, stronger flavours that are our preferred style. It is a 56% Grenache, 40% Shiraz and 4% Mourvedre combination of hand-picked fruit made to reflect the flavour first Clare Valley character.

Graham and Rosemary Pulford’s 35+year old ‘Home Block’ dry-grown Grenache is the source of the intense berry and spice heart of this wine. The Shiraz component is from younger 11 year-old vines on the same property on Stanley Flat, north of Clare township. The Mourvedre was sourced through Neil Pike’s property in Polish Hill River, Clare Valley.

All the fruit was hand-picked and transported to Pike’s Polish Hill River Winery where it was crushed, fermented, macerated, gently pressed and finally sent to mature in a mix of new and 2-3 year-old French and American Oak over the next 12-15 months.

The wine itself exhibits dark berry, spice and game characters with some beautifully fragrant floral notes. This is laced together by fine oak giving a satisfyingly vibrant, full-charactered impression on the nose. The mouth-feel is supple and full with a persistent finish that is delightfully savoury. A fine grip finishes-off this delicious drink

Word document [tasting notes.doc] right click "save target as"

Canada
British Columbia

Freehouse Wines & Spirits

Freehouse Wines & Spirits

Augustan Wine Imports

CLD Imports LLC

Ph : 847 898 9100
Fax : 847 898 9502

Switzerland

Glengarry Hancocks Ltd