Philosophy for the Reserve Shiraz
Our vision was to make one of the best examples for our very small parcel of Reserve level, high quality Shiraz. The wine style we aim for in a Reserve Shiraz is to have incredible power, concentration of fruit and ripe juicy tannins, with immediate drinkability in mind, but with great aging potential. Our Teakle Shiraz vineyard is situated on the Teakle property in Port Lincoln, 2 kilometres from the foreshore, with 150 meters elevation. We are fortunate to have limestone base with ironstone topsoil which is incredibly well drained and can produce wines with great concentration of flavour and colour. The vines produce great Shiraz characteristics, with a cooler climate flavour profile, which have proven very popular as our Estate Shiraz.
We wanted our Reserve to have these characteristics, but add to richness and intensity.
When the world talks wine, it mentions the three “B’s”. Burgundy, Bordeaux and Barossa. Through our connections and friendships with grape growers in the Barossa Valley, and our connection with O’Leary Walker winery in the Clare Valley, we made the decision to find a parcel of Shiraz fruit in the Barossa Valley that would match and enhance the characteristics of our Port Lincoln grown fruit to delivery a wine of high intensity and quality. Barossa Valley has long been the home of amazing old Vine Shiraz, and for this reason, we chose this area to match our region. We believe this wine to have such uniqueness and individuality as it is a combination of both incredible regions.
The parcel of fruit from the Barossa comes from the Rohlach vineyard. This vineyard is quite elevated and has vine age of over 90 years. After trying blends from many different sources with our own Port Lincoln Shiraz, this vineyard was identified as the most suitable to blend with our fruit and produce an exceptional wine.
Vintage
The spring of 2021 was warmer than normal which led to earlier bud burst and a lot of growth in the vineyard. Heavy rainfall occurred in January and February. The summer of 2022 on the Eyre Peninsula was once again lower than average, which pushed harvest date out to late March for the Shiraz. Fruit set was improved showing a moderate growth in yields. 2022 is widely recognised in South Australia as a strong vintage, due to ideal growing conditions. This is one of the reasons we were able to make a super premium Shiraz from both our Port Lincoln property and the Barossa vineyard this year.
Winemaking
This special parcel of Shiraz was identified in the vineyard, and came off of three rows of vines situated in front of our cellar door. This parcel was picked in late March 2022, and destemmed without crushing into a small open fermenter. The fermenting must was plunged several times a day, depending on the stage of fermentation and the developing tannin structure and flavour profile. Once alcoholic fermentation was completed, the wine went through secondary, or malolactic fermentation. The parcel of Barossa Shiraz was made at Oleary Walker in Clare Valley, and then blended with our Port Lincoln fruit. The wine was then transferred into 100% new French oak 225 litre Barriques for maturation.
The wine was rack and returned twice, with regular barrel topping. A long barrel maturation time was allowed to fully integrate the wine with the oak, as is tradition with super premium reds. The wine was lightly filtered and bottled in August 2025.
Attributes
This Reserve shiraz has power and concentration without pushing into the over ripe spectrum. It is rich and inky with velvety tannins. It has dark black berry fruit and hints of red plum. The palate has terrific intensity, red licorice and chocolate balanced with beautiful long fine tannins. A wine you can drink now, but will become more complex with careful cellaring for 10 years.
Alcohol 14.5 %
pH 3.47
TA 6.8 g/l
RS 0.6 g/l