Port Phillip Estate Shiraz 2018

Description

Port Phillip Estate is a specialist Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir producer located on the Mornington Peninsula, one of Australia’s foremost cool-climate maritime wine regions. Meticulous sustainable viticulture and
sensitive minimalist winemaking produce site-expressive wines of elegance, complexity and structure. Port Phillip Estate wines are domain grown, vinified and bottled.

“We endeavour to grow the highest quality fruit that expresses the terroir of each vineyard. Our sustainable farming practices are driven by the belief that the health of our vineyard soils, and thus vines, underpin wine quality. 

All grapes are hand pruned, shoot thinned and hand picked.” Winemaker Glen Hayley

“Since becoming chief winemaker at Port Phillip Estate a few years ago, Glen Hayley has taken the estate’s already good wines to new levels of quality and detail.” Max Allen

The Port Phillip Estate Red Hill vineyard is located on the Mornington Peninsula at Red Hill, on Eocene volcanic soils. Our wines are made from domain grown, handpicked grapes and aim to manifest terroir: the integration of our geology and soils with the macroclimate of our region, the mesoclimates of the various sites within our vineyard and the weather of the annual grape growing season. Our cultural operations in the vineyard and practices in the winery endeavour to articulate these unique characteristics diligently, respectfully and without artifice.

The 2018 Port Phillip Estate Shiraz is a single vineyard wine produced from 0.53 hectares of estate vineyard.

The fruit, including a small amount of whole bunches, was fermented spontaneously with ambient yeasts in an open top concrete fermenter for 17 days. Malolactic fermentation was indigenous and the period of elévage was 13 months in old French oak barriques. This wine was bottled without fining.

Following a wet Winter, budburst commenced relatively late in mid-September. The Winter rainfall set up the vineyards well for Spring with overall temperatures during Spring slightly higher than average accompanied by below average rainfall. Flowering commenced mid late November with ideal weather conditions, resulting in one of the best fruit sets in many years. The mild to warm conditions continued throughout Summer and veraison commenced in mid-January. Harvest delivered fruitful crop loads matched with very stable weather conditions, ensuring vine performance and good ripeness. Picking commenced late February and the viticultural team worked steadily until the beginning of April delivering outstanding fruit. The white wines display excellent acidity, depth and intense fruit flavours. The red wines look poised and elegant with powerful aromatics and a great balance between tannin and acid.

Vibrant purple in colour. The nose offers a complex mix of red fruits (raspberry and cherry), white pepper and dried herbs and flowers. There is a suppleness to the medium bodied palate that is countered with fine tannins and a balanced acidity. Drinking well now, this wine will reward time in the cellar.

92+ Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “It’s its usual savoury self. This wine is noted for its white pepper notes and they are on clear display here, though not to the extent they sometimes are. Garden herb/bunch notes, black pepper, a walk through a garden, a cool succulence. Tannin is fine, assertive and peppery at once. Hold tight here; this wine needs a couple of years to find its feet.”

RRP $43  *Our Special 6 Pack Buy $32.99