Tasting Notes |
Of vegetable preserves, a touch of pepper and spice, perhaps a hint of dark chocolate, a suggestion of earth perhaps Calamata olives.....in a word, complex.
Background: Wherever one grows Shiraz it looks different. I particularly enjoy the wines of central Victoria where mid palate flavour benefits from cool ripening and limited cropping levels. Its a very different style to that produced in Coonawarra and just as different from that produced in the Barossa. Rhone Syrah is different again.
We have two blocks of Shiraz at Three Hills that we refer to as Three Hills. These are referred to as Block 4 and Block 8. The former is located on mid to lower slopes and shades from dry and stony laterite through to valley alluvium. It yields a ripe and concentrated wine that is the backbone of the blend. Block 8 is plateau country, deep grit where a patch of bracken once held sway. The vines are less inhibited, produce long shoots and are difficult to hold back. We have been thinking of root pruning them to curtail their vigour. The crop is heavier, slightly later and the wine exhibits a peppery savoury edge that we think is reminiscent of the Rhone. Until 2004, when block 8 came in with an absolute ripper of a wine we thought to add a little viognier and produce a premium wine under the Happs label.
To produce its best in the Margaret River environment Shiraz demands warm summers and time on the vine. The vine thrives on harsh treatment, never requiring irrigation. The virtue of the Karridale environment is that Shiraz ripens a little later and it has time to rid itself of the herby vegetative notes that one sees further north.
Current
Vintage: 2003
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