Gilbert Family 2019 Shiraz (6 Bottles) Orange, NSW

Handpicked, selected and hand sorted at harvest, these grapes were harvested in small lots in the early morning taking advantage of the cool morning temperatures. They were then destemmed with 15% left for whole bunch fermentation, and were cold soaked for 48 hours.

This provided longer time on the skins, and allowed extractionof optimal tannins and colour from the grapes. Fermentation took place in small batches in open top fermenters, temperature was maintained at 22-30°C.The fermenters were basket pressed and they matured in new (25%) and older French oak. 10% of the Wine was made up of the Barrel Ferment component. This component was drained out of the open ferment to fill 2new French Oak barrels with Free Run at 3.5 Baume. Here it continued to ferment in a super reductive environment increasing its complexity and interest. All these components add a bit of funk and fun!

Sourced from the foothills of Mt Canobolas, at an altitude of 880 – 900 metres, these vineyards have extremely fertile soil, rich in volcanic ash. It is deep well drained clay loam, and red and brown ferrosol soils derived from basalt, with silty textures being found at hill top sites. One of Australia’s cooler climate regions, Orange has amean January temperature of 19.5°C with a 15°C variance between summer and winter months, an average rainfall of approximately 875mm per annum.

With Orange being the highest wine growing region in Australia,grapes grown here not only enjoy all the benefits of its cooler temperatures, and unique typography, but also benefit from over 9hrs per day of direct sunshine during the growing season. The combination of both the cooler climate and plentiful sunshine, is vital to the fruits ability to develop intense aromas and maintain flavour.