Scarlet Runner Shiraz 2009
Tasting Notes
The 2009 Spring Seed 'Scarlet Runner' Shiraz has an impressive nose of rich, dark chocolate (a classically McLaren Vale characteristic), black fruit and cherry ripe. The palate is full and even, with a smoothly approachable tannin structure. Great balance and length make for a wine which is much more than the sum of its parts. In other words, delicious!
Vintage
A very dry winter was followed by a hot January which segued into a dry, mild conclusion to vintage. Small crops of both whites and reds were the result of dry conditions in winter and the preceding 3-4 years. In the case of the red varieties, the longer you waited for them the better they got.
Winemaking
We aimed to make a wine without too much oak or winemaking artifice, where the fruit was the main event. As a result, on top of our old-fashioned winemaking techniques, there was more maturation in tank than in oak. In fact we only used about 8% new (French) oak, and only a smattering of big old oak. vessels for this purpose. Grapes were sourced from 3 different adjacent Shiraz block (all certified organic of course) from our vineyard, with most of the batches being open fermented. Yields were low, in the region of 3. 75 tonnesl acre.
Other Vintages
Technical Details
Picking Date: 2nd, 11th and 18th March 2009
pH: 3.48
Total Acidity: 6.71 g/L
Alc/Vol: 14.5%
Bottling Date: 8 April 2010