“Really lovely” 2007 Shiraz

“A beautifully textured wine”, 2007 Shiraz

"Some say that one day Heathcote will produce THE best Shiraz in Australia."
Max Allen, Wine International Magazine

Winemaker: Sandro Mosele
Fruit for the Archer Shiraz is sourced from the Kennedy Vineyard located along Heathcote’s ‘golden mile’, perfectly sited on the east facing edge of the Mt Camel Range. Here the ancient red Cambrian soil runs vein-like from north to south, providing the region’s best-suited terroir for growing high quality Shiraz. The Kennedy Vineyard is approximately half way along the Mt. Camel range where the dry moderate conditions provide an ideal environment to grow ripe, flavoursome Shiraz. The low-yielding vines are cradled on the gently sloping rise, producing intensely flavoured, soundly structured and balanced fruit, perfect for the production of top quality Shiraz. Sandro Mosele has a deep passion for cool climate wine. Highly acclaimed for his work with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, his interest in Shiraz has built through his work with Port Phillip Estate and Scorpo, both produced on the Mornington Peninsula. The opportunity to work with high quality Heathcote fruit from the Kennedy Vineyard furthers his association with vinifying refined, high-quality shiraz. In addition to the quality of the Kennedy vineyard, the opportunity to unearth Heathcote’s true potential for more balanced and finely crafted Shiraz with subtle complexity and finesse was irresistible. Sourced from a single vineyard sited on prime red Cambrian soil, the main focus in the vineyard is to deliver flavour, sugar and tannin maturity in tandem, resulting in a balanced, approachable wine – wine for drinking! The winemaking utilises traditional non-interventionist techniques to allow varietal and regional character to take centre stage. All fruit was handpicked, de-stemmed, and fermented in small open fermenters using indigenous yeasts and gentle plunging. Each fermenter represents a different variation of the vineyard, viticulture, picking time, clone and varying percentages of whole clusters. After pressing to barrel, the wine was allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation in spring without inoculation and was bottled under screwcap to retain fragrance and vitality.

2006 SHIRAZ
"An atypical Heathcote shiraz at just 13.5% alcohol, it is beautifully balanced and vibrant in its fruit, with great drinkability. The palate is really excellent – texture being a highlight. It’s rich and smooth, with fine-grained tannins giving it that allimportant drinkability, though I’d guess it will age well too, for a decade at least."
Huon Hooke, Gourmet Traveller WINE, Dec/Jan 2008

2006 SHIRAZ
"...we went straight to a serious wine. The ’06 Archer Shiraz from Victoria’s glorious Heathcote region was an obvious choice. It’s still very young, of course, but very delicious, and bursting with the promise of even better things to come."
Bob Hart, The Herald Sun, 08/12/07

2006 SHIRAZ
"...this is much closer to what Heathcote is all about than the hot, high alcohol examples that are far too common."
Lester Jesberg, WINEWISE Volume 23 #5, Dec 2007