Description
From the ‘best Hunter Valley vintage since 1965’ comes possibly our best shiraz made to date.
Showcasing the terroir of the vineyard at work, and only produced in exceptional vintages, the best parcels of fruit from the Schoolhouse Block are hand-picked then fermented on skins for 14 days, 30% whole bunches, before being pressed into French oak puncheons (50% new) to mature over the next 12 months.
The wine spends are further 4 years maturing in bottle to let the flavours and aromas come together, backed by fine tannins and well-balanced acidity.
The 2014 Aristea Shiraz is a deep rich red wine with the balance, weight, concentration and power allowing development of wonderful complexity over many decades, demonstrating the heights that Shiraz can achieve in the Hunter Valley.
Only 150 cases produced.
“A totally compelling wine with its multiplicity of messages, half deriving from the terroir and vintage, half from the vinification. It is at once savoury/earthy/leathery and brightly fruited, the fragrance superb, the medium-bodied palate with an overarching drive to its predominantly red fruits.” – 97 points, drink by 2054, James Halliday
“It’s alive with character. Leather, game, black cherries, smoked meats, cloves and peppers. It feels powerful in the mouth and then stern and meaty through the finish; almost ferrous and/or reductive; it almost goes without saying that it also rocks and rolls with tannin.” – 94+ points, drink 2020-2034+, Campbell Mattinson
Campbell Mattinson –
This is where things gets serious. The flavour profile isn’t your standard fair. It’s alive with character. Leather, game, black cherries, smoked meats, cloves and peppers. It feels powerful in the mouth and then stern and meaty through the finish; almost ferrous and/or reductive; it almost goes without saying that it also rocks and rolls with tannin. It’s not the easiest wine to get your head around, and that’s part of why it’s good; it commands the floor.
94+ points, drink 2020-2034+
James Halliday –
A totally compelling wine with its multiplicity of messages, half deriving from the terroir and vintage, half from the vinification. It is at once savoury/earthy/leathery and brightly fruited, the fragrance superb, the medium-bodied palate with an overarching drive to its predominantly red fruits.
97 points, drink to 2054