Vintage
We recorded just about average annual rainfall over the year, which resulted in healthy crops of Shiraz and Cabernet. Unseasonably warm November weather interfered with the chardonnay during flowering and has resulted in small crops of this variety. The weather then remained almost perfect for the rest of vintage. The general consensus amongst winemakers in the Vale is that 2010 marks an exceptional year for both red and white wines.
Winemaking
Our Best of Vintage Wine is just that; a blend of our very best wine, taken from Joch’s favourite barrels from the best batches of Cabernet Sauvignon (53%), Shiraz (41%) and Petit Verdot (6%) from the 2010 vintage. All three varieties were individually open fermented, with Shiraz and Cabernet finishing off ferment in barrel. Petit Verdot had an extended period of time on skins. All three components went to a mix of new and old predominantly French oak, with a couple of new American oak barrels selected for good measure. The selected barrels stayed on lees and then bottled six months after the 2010 Battle of Bosworth Cabernet Sauvignon and 2010 Battle of Bosworth Shiraz.
Tasting Notes
After tasting the inaugural Best of Vintage wine (prior to bottling) UK wine man Tim Wildman MW (@JamesBusbyTravel), tweeted that he saw in this wine a discernable “Vale” style, namely: ‘raspberry, spice, chocolate & salt’. This is as good a summary of this wine as Joch could come up with, however out of respect to Joch, his notes are as follows:
The wine has a complex lifted nose of blue and black fruits, and black olive. It is floral with a hint of an earthy richness which is to be found on the palate. The 2010 Best of Vintage has subtle, tamed and mouth-filling tannins, a good weight, but a wonderful freshness at the same time. Best of Vintage requires time and air to really come into its own. This wine has terrific cellaring potential, but is more than accessible now. Joch highly recommends decanting Best of Vintage whenever you decide to drink it.
Technical Details
| Picking Date | 11th, 12th, 17th, 18th and 19th March 2010 |
|---|---|
| pH Level | 3.55 |
| Total Acidity | 6.78g/L |
| Alc/Vol | 14.5% |
| Bottling Date | 22nd November 2011 |
Awards
Reviews
- Wine Taste Weekly Tyson Stelzer 5th April 2010 www.tysonstelzer.com
- 'Wine Will Eat Itself 2 - The Main Course' Jeremy Pringle Blogger
- Wining Pom 12th November 2012 www.winingpom.com.au
- James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion 2014
- Huon Hooke, www.huonhooke.com 7th March 2013
- The Wine Advocate #205 February 2013 Lisa Perrotti-Brown
- The Wine Front January 21st 2013 Campbell Mattinson