2015 The Shellac Syrah
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Tasting notes
Hand-picked, 30% whole bunches, 6 days cold soak for wild fermentation to commence, then hand-plunged for 69 days on skins, basket-pressed to used French oak for 7 months maturation, stirred for the first 3 months. Despite relatively early picking, has awesome, relentless power, concentration and drive emanating from the very heart of the jet black fruits rather than tannins and/or oak. Will live forever. March 2016.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Halliday
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Rich and sweet but with sufficient refreshment factor too. All-round charm. (JR)
(aged for eight months in used French oak casks, a third of them new; 13.8% alcohol): Youthful purple color. High-pitched dark berry and pungent floral aromas are complicated by suggestions of Indian spices and black pepper, with a smoky mineral quality building with aeration. Lively, focused and sappy on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, bitter cherry and violet pastille flavors that become sweeter and deeper with air. Fine-grained tannins give shape to the sappy, penetrating finish, which clings with excellent tenacity and repeating floral character.