Dandelion Vineyards `Lionheart of the Barossa` Shiraz 75cl

Quintessential Aussie Barossa Shiraz made form a single vineyard with vines over 100years old giving fabulous depth and character. Multi-award-winning wine, Dandelion were voted ‘New World Winery of the Year’ at this year’s SWA (Sommelier Wine Awards) event…and at a great price for this quality.

PRODUCER
Dandelion Vineyards is the venture of self-titled ‘typist’ Zar Brooks and his winemaking wife Elena, with wines made from the Barossa and Eden Valleys, Fleurieu, the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale. Nick Stock, one of Australia’s leading journalists, has described Dandelion as follows: “Brooks has teamed up with his winemaking wife Elena, a woman whose talents are outweighed only by her tolerance, in an exciting new venture called Dandelion Vineyards. The approach is remarkably simple and sees Elena making wine from a suite of beautiful old vineyards across that blessed curve that runs from the Barossa, up through the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills and down into McLaren Vale.”

VINEYARDS
Named after Barossa’s lifelong champion of old vines, Carl Lindner, the grapes for this Shiraz come from an old vineyard in the Barossa where the vines are over a 100 years old, many on their original rootstock. Throughout their vineyards they encourage the humble dandelion amongst the vines as they suppress winter weeds and provide mulch in summer.

VINTAGE
The growing season started off well with higher than average rainfall in winter, allowing the vines to build up sufficient reserves for what would prove a drier than average summer. Techniques to manage the effects of water stress in the vineyard delivered sound fruit and consistent yields. The Indian summer of March and early April created perfect conditions for harvest and finished off the 2018 vintage perfectly.

VINIFICATION
Whole bunches were hand harvested, gently crushed and naturally fermented in open fermenters for eight days. The cap was hand plunged twice a day before the fruit was carefully pressed off the skins using a basket press into a mix of new and previously filled French oak barriques to finish fermentation. After 18 months' maturation and racking in the same oak, the wine was bottled without filtration or fining, to capture the essence of the vines.
TASTING NOTES
Intense crimson with youthful purple hues. Generous, mouth-filling sweet blackberries, raspberries and plums cover the palate with lashings of sweet spice. Firm but fine tannins and dark chocolatey nuances continue throughout the lengthy palate with a youthful finish.

Grapes
100% Syrah/Shiraz
ABV14.5%
Vegan, Vegetarian, Practising Organic