Heathcote Shiraz
The Heathcote Vineyard
The Tyrrell’s Vineyards are situated on the eastern slope of the Mount Camel range about 25-30km north of the town of Heathcote. Within the G.I.C. defined region and on the highly prized Cambrian earth, we have around 70 acres of land under vine. First planted in 1994 (100% shiraz). The vineyard is sparingly irrigated, with the vine canopies managed to promote fully ripened fruit. Typically, the fruit produced from this vineyard shows ripe fruit characteristics and produce wines around 14 - 15% alcohol. Surprisingly however, the fruit still retains a low pH and high acid levels.
This combination produces big wines with lots of colour and a distinctive white pepper shiraz character, whilst still maintaining the finesse and elegance that allows the wine to benefit from time in the bottle.
The 2010 Season
The best winter rain for six years set us up for a good season but dry weather during flowering kept our bunch numbers low. A warm, dry January was followed by unseasonal rain events in February and March. Being set up to pick exactly when we wanted to in mid March was critical in ensuring the clean, ripe, high quality fruit needed for this blend.
Futures Red Option
Winemaking Notes:
Selected parcels of fruit are transported to our Upper Hunter winery. After primary fermentation the wine is stored on secondary lees in French oak barriques where ‘malo’ and maturation take place. Eighteen months after harvest, this polished wine is bottled ready for its second evolution period.
Style:
A perfect example of why Tyrrell’s are so passionate about the Heathcote area - this wine shows the savoury/spicy spectrum of the variety, balanced fresh acid and fine tannins. Combine these classic flavours with the riper plum and chocolate fruits common to the region, you get the best of both worlds; ripe and silky with a fresh ‘moreish’ finish.
Cellaring Potential
“We have been producing wines from our vineyard in Heathcote for 14 years now; that history, and the balanced fruit chemistry of the 2010, gives us every confidence in its aging potential ” …another solid year for Futures Shiraz. (Drinking till 2019)
Mark Richardson, Red Winemaker April 2011