Sons of Eden Kennedy 2014

Description

Sons of Eden co-owners, Corey Ryan (“cut his teeth” as winemaker at Henschke for 10 yrs) winemaker and Simon Cowham (ex-viticulturist Yalumba) have come up trumps again!

This wine is so damn good it reminds us why we love the wine business! A superb example of Barossa Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre blend – Named as a tribute to the legendary Barossa Vigneron’s who pioneered the planting of the old treasured vineyards,which the Barossa enjoys today. The Grenache fruit is the ‘soul’ of this blend and is from an exceptionally low yielding 60+ year-old Light Pass and a 100+ year old Rowland Flat vineyard. Originally planted by the Kennedy Family, with ownership eventually being passed onto the charismatic Leo ‘Joe’ KENNEDY who nurtured the vines for many years, selling his prized fruit to local winemakers.

55% Grenache, 35% Shiraz and 10% Mourvedre matured in seasoned French hogsheads and puncheons for 16mths. 14.5% alcohol. It is a labour of love making this wine … ancient vines, minuscule yields of 1.25- 2 tons/acre (Light Pass, Rowland Flat, Nuriootpa, Seppeltsfield, Moppa), handpicking and traditional small batch winemaking followed by 16months maturation in used French oak. Intensely concentrated wild berry dark cherry fruit , spice, tarry depth and silky tannins. A seamless velvety palate with more-ish spice, savoury complexity and terrific length of flavour.  It certainly lives up to all the many award winning previous vintages…we haven’t seen anything that gets close to the extraordinary quality and value GSM offered here.

95 points, James Halliday’s 2017 Australian Wine Companion: “… The relatively deep colour tells you this is not your average Barossa GSM; the bouquet and palate shout agreement from the rooftops.  This is a very high quality blend worthy of comparison to Chateau Rayas of the Rhone Valley (albeit without challenging the incomparable Rayas).  Screwcap. 14.5% alc.”

93 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front: “Juicy dark cherries, chocolate and spice, some of the stuff that I codify as ‘Barossa coal’, which may or may not make sense, and light perfume of flowers and dried herb. It’s medium bodied, silky smooth and spicy, with ultra-fine powder tannin, juiciness of fruit, though does not taste sweet, and a controlled spicy red berried finish of excellent length. Super from nose to tail.”

RRP $27