1997 Tyrrell's Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz

Terroir is that unique combination and interaction between various elements of the environment such as climate, soils, slopes, sunlight, rainfall that confer upon a viticultural site a quality and uniqueness which is then transferred into the wine. Terroir by its very nature can not embrace large parcels of land due to the close interaction of these various elements. The soil structure may change, the micro climate at the top of a hill is different to the bottom and so on. These small parcels of land produce truly unique wines. There are many terroirs in the world, but Victoria possesses one of the most unique examples on the globe, and it's to be found in Heathcote, Central Victoria! Heathcote has the worlds oldest soils, two parallel strips of 500 million year old Cambrian red brown gravelly loam. The soils are not found everywhere and exist in two non continuous North South belts between two parallel faults. These fault lines of ancient rocks have been rubbing together for millions of years to create these unique deep red soils. Three metres deep, the red brown gravelly loams are high in iron content, well drained and have a capacity to retain moisture which is so necessary for a non irrigated vine to sustain its existence. This is the unique quality of Heathcote.Tyrrell's are one of Australia's oldest winemaking Families, having established their Hunter Valley Vineyards in 1858. Until recently, Murray Tyrrell and son Bruce had the mistaken belief that the only place on the entire earth that great wine was made was in the Hunter - they say farmers are slow thinkers but this is about as slow a thought process as one can imagine. In recent years the Tyrrell's decided to expand, McLaren Vale, Penola (Coonawarra) and Heathcote. A new label was launched for their McLaren Vale and Heathcote wines, called Rufus Stone - the history behind it is rather corny, so we'll refer you to the back label. Two Rufus Stone wines have been released, the 1997 Rufus Stone McLaren Vale Shiraz and the 1997 Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz, both are outstanding, with the Heathcote Shiraz taking the first class honours due to the intensity of colour and generosity of flavour.Ron Laughton has certainly set the benchmark for Heathcote Shiraz, with his famous Jasper Hill Emily's and Georgia's Paddock wines, which are amongst the most highly sought after Australian wines in the world. These wines barely last more than a day in stores and are approaching the $60-$80 a bottle mark.

THE 1997 RUFUS STONE HEATHCOTE SHIRAZ DOES NOT ENJOY THE REPUTATION OF JASPER HILL YET, AND THE OPERATIVE WORD IS YET, BECAUSE IN STYLE AND STRUCTURE THERE ARE GREAT SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE WINES. HOWEVER, IN PRICE THERE IS A GREAT DIFFERENCE - BUT MAYBE NOT FOR LONG.

Tasting notes: Magnificent opaque crimson purple colour, the depth of which is almost a guarantee of great flavour to follow. Superb nose of liquorice, blackberries, confectionary, pepper, vanilla and a hint of earth as an end note, giving the wine a Rhone like expression. The palate is mouthfilling, an array of blackberry, blackcurrant, super ripe plums and blackpepper flavours create a monumental tasting experience. The flavours are carefully counter balanced by vanillin oak and a Classic Heathcote super fine tannin structure. Perfect balance with exceptionally long blackberry, pepper and spice aftertaste. Cellar 8-10 years. An exceptional wine and outstanding value for money - An absolute must! Stocks of this wine are very limited - be quick!