2008 Tatiarra Cambrian Shiraz

In 2000 Domaines Tatiarra was established by Nick Chlebnikowski & Bill Spring, two highly motivated and creative individuals with a passion to create a benchmark Australian Shiraz. Sadly, both of these founding members are no longer with us. However, there remains a driving force amongst the Tatiarra shareholders to continue what they started.

2008 will be remembered as the vintage that Tatiarra's reputation was put at stake. From the outset, it was always going to be one of the most challenging years the company had faced - an ongoing drought, water shortages and heatwaves all took a toll. Followers of Tatiarra's wines will know that they're subject to some of the most rigorous selection processes in Australia. Barrels which don't perform are separated and sold off under a sub-label (Tatiarra 'Culled Barrel'). 2008 resulted in the biggest cuts yet with 1300 cases 'rejected' from the flagship wines and a further 1400 cases not even deemed suitable for Culled Barrel. Collector's should also note that no 2008 Trademark Shiraz was produced. In total, 70% of the 2008 Tatiarra vintage has been declassified. If this sounds extraordinary, it is. In America, John Rimmerman of Garagiste in Seattle recently summed up the guts of the operation, stating "Tatiarra is in a different category than 99% of all other Australian wineries and they should be recognized for attempting to do something that uses their foresight as a roadmap instead of following the style of others." He adds "This is not a copycat winery – they leave those chasing their wake with the unenviable task of catching up".

Earlier this year, before Nick Chlebnikowski passed away, he conducted a vertical tasting of Tatiarra Cambrian Shiraz (2002-2007). The wines were developing extremely slowly and seemed almost unmoved, as was anticipated. If you're planning your own vertical in the next decade or so, 2008 could have easily been the one wine missing from your line up, and justifiably so if the quality had not been maintained. Rest assured, this is not a vintage to hesitate on. Normally, the Tatiarra collection is released every November. Due to unforeseen circumstances the bottling of the 2008 vintage has been delayed. We're offering these wines on a pre-arrival basis for delivery in early December 2009. (Note: as they will not have been in the bottle very long we recommend they be placed in the cellar for a few months to rest and recover. Most wines suffer what is known as 'bottle shock' for several months following bottling whereby the aromas and flavours are muted but then gradually bounce back). Saturated black purple colour with black purple hue – totally opaque with paint like cling to the walls of the glass. The nose is an intense sniff with perfumed aromas of violets, black cherries, blackberry, aniseed, confectionary and vanilla. The palate is a touch more refined than the last two vintages whilst still maintaining Cambrian’s powerhouse of flavour – strong liquorice, aniseed and blackberry followed by spice and blackpepper on the back palate, with some underlying minerality giving the wine a rock like structure. Perfectly balanced with super fine beautifully integrated tannins. Long persistent aftertaste of spice, blackpepper, confectionary and liquorice allsorts. Another magnificent result for the Tatiarra team.
Cellar 8-10 years (2017-2019)
15.5% Alc