Three Special 2017 Vintage Reds
Stephanie loves making (and drinking) red wine. There are opportunities to craft, to read the season, and make wines that show what’s special about these three red varieties from her chosen vineyard sites. Shiraz, nero d’avola, cabernet sauvignon; while each is unique and individual because of site and season, Stephanie’s winemaking approach is equally varied and dependent on conditions.
2017 was a cool, late vintage following excellent above average winter and spring rains. This has contributed to these wines being very stylish yet brooding, lingering and flavoursome with a late intensity and fine tannins thata season like 2017 can offer.
Does the organic status of vineyards and winery play a role in this outcome? “I think it adds to the purity of fruit that these wines express” says Stephanie. “The organic approach is working so well that we don’t have a need to use finings (like milk or gelatine) on the wines – we want to keep all that flavour, purity and finesse.” A lack of finings means that all the wines are vegan and vegetarian friendly – a side benefit of Stephanie’s strict ‘get it right early and don’t intervene’ approach. It’s a step beyond organics.
“Supple, stylish, sleek – this is modern Australian shiraz. Perfectly poised…” (Winsor Dobbin April 6, 2019) Stephanie explains how she makes this style: “The first thing is to plant the vineyard in the right place: the Alexander Vineyard is beautifully sited and low yielding. Then, at vintage it’s about hand harvesting at optimum (not jammy) fruit ripeness. From there, one quarter of the fruit is whole-bunch foot crushed in open fermenters, pressed, then run into French barriques and left on the yeast lees. This gives a fresher more perfumed but less tannic component. The remainder is fermented and plunged four times a day for a week, then Stephanie has found that over the past twenty-two years of making shiraz, this approach (often referred to as ‘more European’) gives the most expressive wine. The 2017 vintage wine is testament to this. Bright dark cherry red. Rich, spiced plum aromas with a lick of cedar-like oak. Plush red fruits, dark chocolate and forest with lingering spice and attractive peppery tannins. Carries its weight well delivering a smart mid-weight shiraz to enjoy immediately or after 10 to 15 years in the cellar. Estate grown, single vineyard, organic.
Textbook, benchmark cabernet from Stephanie Toole, whose “attention to detail and refusal to cut corners” (James Halliday) is very much evidenced here. Refined, elegant and super-stylish. Limited release, single vineyard and organically grown. Dark purple-red. Estate grown, single vineyard, organic. PRAISE FOR THE 2016 “…cabernet sauvignon in effortless mode, its curranty, brambly, toasty flavours travelling through the palate in
Inspired by the wines of Sicily, Stephanie planted Mount Horrocks’ Nero d’Avola vineyard in 2007 and this is her sixth release. The grapes are harvested by hand, then cold-soaked prior to a nine day ferment. Daily plunging ensures ideal extraction until the wine is racked to French oak barriques (20% new) for twelve months maturation prior to bottling. Less new oak is used to maintain its juicy palate. Vibrantly coloured, juicy red berry fruits and spice notes. Estate grown, single vineyard, organic. PRAISE FOR THE 2016 “Bright with red-berried flavour, though blessed with flashes of savoury spice… it’s a pleasure to spend time with.” |
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