2005 Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz

Ben Glaetzer – Young Maestro of the Barossa.

Two ‘Big’ Bens are currently dominating a new wave of Shiraz winemaking in Australia. Ben Riggs, is the elder at 40 years of age, Ben Glaetzer at the tender age of 28 is the ‘l’enfant terrible’, who has bewitched the wine world. Behind the two Bens there are mentors. Colin Glaetzer is one of the great Masters of Australian Shiraz, having created the superb E & E Black Pepper Shiraz for Barossa Valley Estates, and honoured with life membership of the Barons of the Barossa. His young son seems to have overshadowed the ‘old mans’ 30 year effort with lavish praise being bestowed from all corners of the globe. US wine critic Robert Parker has described him as “a serious talent who has exploded onto the wine scene with a brilliant array of wines.” Anthony Rose describes him as a “flavour profile nut” whilst Halliday writes he “is at the forefront of a new wave”. Nominated as Qantas Winemaker of the Year in 2004 and the youngest ever Baron of the Barossa, he still manages to remain quite modest – “wine must be consumable, so I do what I can to make wines that are animated, alive and soft.” A large part of his success must be attributed to the quality of the vineyards that the Glaetzers have access to, particularly those in the Ebenezer District in the North of the  Barossa. Robert Parker also recognises this skill, writing that Ben has "an exquisite talent for accessing fabulous vineyards and turning out world class wines.”

Whilst Ben Glaetzer is the Generation X version of Ben Riggs, there is a very strong commonality of approach, and that stems from their unique ability to visualize the flavour of ripe berries (whilst still on the vine) as finished wine. The fruit for the Bishop Shiraz is sourced from the Northern end of the Ebenezer District in the Barossa, with warm temperatures, low rainfall, coupled with low relative humidity contributing to the intense full bodied structure of the Bishop. Softness and elegance are the hallmarks of the Glaetzer style. The well drained, sandy clay loam soils over solid limestone pan are ideal for Barossa Shiraz, encouraging deep root systems, which play an important role in producing highly concentrated wines. The vines are aged between 10 and 125 years old with yields in the order of 1.2-2 tonnes per acre.  Although Ben Glaetzer has access to some of the districts oldest vineyards, the preference is to use a matrix of fruit from old, middle aged and younger vineyards.

The 2005 Bishop is a triumph for Glaetzer and the Barossa. The wine was matured for 14 months in a combination of 80% French and 20% American oak, sourced from 16 different Coopers. New oak is limited to 15% of the barrels, thus ensuring that the fruit quality is the dominant factor, rather than the oak. Fermentation takes place in a traditional manner, using a specific neutral yeast, which expresses the natural fruit flavours, rather than influencing the outcome. There is no doubt that Ben Glaetzer has a magic touch with Shiraz, and we endorse the 2005 Glaetzer Bishop as a “Magic Wine.”

This is a wine diplaying great richness and opulence. The quality of this wine has risen dramatically with the 2005 vintage – and this is evidenced from the first sniff. Glaetzer believes that great wine is made in the vineyards. Due to the rationalisation of the Glaetzer stable of labels, the 2005 Bishop takes a quantum leap forward in quality – being composed of 70% of the same fruit that was the backbone of the $50+ Glaetzer Shiraz.

Tasting note:
Totally opaque black purple colour with deep purple hue. Top notes of liquorice allsorts, toasted oak, vanilla, blackberry and ripe plum followed by a violet end note. The palate is a concentrate of Shiraz – Voluptuous flavours of liquorice allsorts, black pepper, vanilla, plum and spice. Totally mouthfilling. Fine grained tannins, perfectly balanced. Very long aftertaste of vanilla, black pepper, spice and liquorice allsorts.
Cellar 3-4 years (2009- 2010)
Alc/Vol: 14.5%