Vintage
We had a very early start to vintage in 2015, with generally mild conditions throughout. We had only a handful of hot days, which allowed natural acids to develop nicely. This was a very short, sharp vintage, with most winemakers finishing their vintage well before Easter. Yields were down, somewhere between 10 and 30% depending on variety. Joch’s take on the whole affair? ‘Fast, early and pretty’.
Winemaking
We have modelled the Puritan on the young Tempranillos that come out of Rioja in Spain. Puritan spends no time in oak and is bottled as soon as it has gone through malolactic fermentation, which occurs after the sugar to alcohol primary fermentation. We have shamelessly copied this model, except with ‘Puritan’ we bottle the wine without any added preservatives, so it’s as fresh as a daisy, with nothing added. It is also made from Shiraz, too.
Tasting Notes
‘Puritan’ is young, very young, and the colour reflects its youth – it is bright, vibrant purple. There are black cherries and violets on the nose with a hint of liquorice weed. On the palate there are black and red fruits with a blueberry and black cherry finish. The wine is bright, zippy and even. Think fresh upfront fruit, almost as if you’ve taken a glass and dipped it into a vat of fermenting Shiraz, it’s THAT fresh.
Technical Details
| Vineyards | Denton's, Edgehill, Cox's and The Hill Shiraz (in front of cellar door) |
|---|---|
| Picking Date | 18th, 21st, 24th and 26th February 2015 |
| Alc/Vol | 14.5% |
| Bottling Date | 19th May 2015 |