1999 The Green Vineyards Shiraz

Winemaker Serge Carlei, refers to this wine as the FORTIES OLD BLOCK. He has managed to source the grapes from an old, low yielding, dry grown, non irrigated vineyard, which is sited on deep grey loams. The 'magic' of Heathcote, of course, has been the very old Cambrian red soils which are approximately 500 million years old. These soils occur in approximately two parallel lines, and once off the red soil, the wine is 'not quite the same'. This is perhaps the problem with this wine - it has a number of excellent qualities, but does not pass the line as being great. Serge has used natural yeast during the fermentation in an effort to provide the wine with more of the character of its terroir.

Opaque crimson mauve colour, with purple hues. On the nose there is a trace of volatility which we find a little disturbing. Now we know some folk will argue that it can help lift the fruit quality on the nose, and to our mind that is largely an argument that belongs to history. Sure the 1971 Grange had a fair dose of volatility but today, if a winemaker desires to produce a lifted nose, there are more scientific (and not necessarily 'clinically dead') ways of doing it. Some will argue that wine has become squeaky clean, and that not enough regionality is evident. Again, there are ways of obtaining more regional character, but these belong and start in the vineyard. Once passed the volatility, there are some excellent aromas of plum, vanilla, blackberry and liquorice. Ink plum palate flavours, followed by a peppery background. The wine has excellent weight and length, but is without significant persistence. Aftertaste of sweet plums, stewed fruits and blackberries. Cellar 5-8 years.

RATING: 88/100

VALUE: XXX/5