2013 Vinelea Shiraz

A great new find for us winemaker and owner Stuart Smith established his Beechworth vineyard in 2006 with aspirations to produce Northern Rhone styled Shiraz. Everything from site selection to clone selection, trellis style and orientation (VSP, East to West), cool ferments, French oak and no fining or filtering were influenced by the Northern Rhone. The vineyard is a densely planted (1200 vines per acre) dry grown plot, on the typical Beechworth granite duplex soil which produces low yields of highly flavoured fruit. It’s Northern aspect is noticeably warmer and ideal for Shiraz production. An outstanding vintage for central Victoria 2013 was a warm summer that turned mild for vintage, and the fruit ripened very slowly and evenly. Maturation took place in French Oak of which one third was new for a period of 20 months.

This Northern Rhone Inspired Beechworth Shiraz is a stunning new discovery

Superb midnight black dark purple core showing great colour saturation with a very deep dark purple black hue. Lifted aromas of liquorice, dark plum and blackberries with a smoky bacon fat like overlay followed by some meatiness with peppery end notes. Full bodied the palates terrific richness is matched against a chewy robust mouthfeel, yet the wine is still very savoury featuring flavours of black cherries, liquorice and blackberries that flood the palate over a smoky cedar, dried meats and earthy pepper background. Excellent concentration and power with a firm solid tannin structure that’s in perfect balance to the fruit. Long aftertaste of liquorice, black cherries, smoky cedar, meaty earth like characters and pepper. Unfortunately stocks are extremely limited so you’ll need to be quick.
Cellar 6-8 years.
Alc 13.5%