Description
Mount Horrocks Wines is operated by proprietor/winemaker Stephanie Toole, who restricts production to approximately 3,500 cases per annum in order to achieve her aims of quality and single vineyard expression. All three estate-owned Clare Valley vineyards, totalling ten hectares, are ‘A certified’ by Australian Certified Organic (ACO). James Halliday says “Stephanie Toole has never deviated from the pursuit of excellence in the vineyard and winery. She has three vineyard sites in the Clare Valley, each managed using natural farming and organic practices. The attention to detail and refusal to cut corners is obvious in all her wines. 5 Red Star Winery”
Stephanie carefully crafts “essentially hand-made food wines with emphasis on structure as well as generous fruit flavours”. Only estate grown grapes are used and these are hand-picked and gently handled under conditions that ensure the varietal and site-specific flavours in the resultant wine, as well as its organic status, are retained. As no finings have been found necessary the wines are all suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Only the finest French oak barriques are used for those wines spending time in barrel.
About this wine: A ‘European’ winemaking approach, with one quarter of the hand-picked fruit being whole-bunch foot crushed, gives more perfume, while the remainder is crushed, destemmed and fermented for more palate weight. Both components then spend 18 months in French oak barriques.
Stephanie’s aim has always been to produce a wine that’s fresher, balanced and drinkable on release. The Alexander Vineyard produces full flavoured grapes from vines that are healthy and balanced but relatively low yielding. This results in optimal flavour at moderate alcohol levels.
Vibrant red-purple. Inviting fragrant red and black fruits, cherry, plum and cocoa envelope the nose. Sweet spice and leafy tobacco add complexity to the generous fruit, supple, elegantly structured, beautifully oaked, and with gentle, rounded tannins. The delicious flavours linger. A bright modern Australian shiraz to enjoy immediately or over the next ten to twelve years.
94 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review 94 Points “Deep-ish bright red-purple colour with aromas of nutmeg/spice, which also come through strongly on the palate. Full-bodied, rich and deep, with velvet mouth-feel and a long carry. The tannins are there but they are super-smooth and pliant.”
94 points, Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion “From a single vineyard, biodynamically grown (certified). The tussle is between the bright, red cherry and cranberry freshness of this wine and a deeper, moodier savoury element of dried herbs, forest floor and licorice, and in all that, composure and elegance – this is a brilliant wine. The vitality and vigour of the wine are marked, almost in nouveau territory such is the energy of fruit character, but the tannins draw things taut, all chiselled and graphite-laced, and the wine generally feels structured despite its more delicate composition. It’s almost unnervingly fantastic to drink right now – though cellaring will reward too.”
RRP $62 *Our Special Price $51.99 when you buy 6 or more* LIMITED STOCKS
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