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Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit
Product of Sydney
Australia
Hunter Valley Shiraz Spirit is an eau de vie distilled from salvaged smoke tainted grapes as the first product in a three-part series to support the Hunter Valley wine community following the devastating 2019 / 2020 bushfires.
Packaged as the second release under the Trials & Exceptions Series, our new range reserved for exceptional casks and small-batch trials, this innovative eau de vie is one of the first of its kind in Australia and showcases our experimentation with wine made from 50 plus tonnes of smoke-tainted Hunter Valley 2020 shiraz and cabernet sauvignon grapes with the majority of spirit to be aged for release as a brandy in coming years.
Displaying lively notes of tropical fruits, crème fraîche and berries with just the slightest suggestion of smoke, it’s an adventurous spirit, unusual at first in taste but excellent with the simple addition of fresh-pressed apple juice or even Coca-Cola and freshly squeezed lime juice.
Tasting Notes
Appearance
Clear
Nose
Opens with notes of shortbread, icing sugar and vine leaves. With air, it yields pineapple, guava, honeydew and old campfire.
Palate
On the palate, it shows a round and oily texture with mango, raspberry jam and wafers.
Finish
It resolves with a grassy and saline persistence that echos the balanced fruit, and savoury elements.
Production Notes
Grapes sourced
Grapes sourced
In sourcing high local quality grapes infused with the aroma of bushfire smoke, we celebrate the perseverance and dedication of NSW grape growers and wine producers. These grapes were once destined for wine, tainted by bushfire and finally salvaged to make this uniquely modern Australian grape spirit.
| Grape Variety | Provenance | Grower/ Producer | Smoke-Tainted | Age of Vines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiraz | Pokolbin | Tinklers Wines | Yes | Over 20 years old |
| Shiraz | Broke Fordwich | Beyond Broke | Yes | Over 20 years old |
| Shiraz | Pokolbin | Bon Villa | Yes | Over 20 years old |
| Shiraz | Pokolbin | Draytons | Yes | Over 20 years old |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | Upper Hunter | Two Rivers | Yes | Over 20 years old |
| Shiraz | Pokolbin | Holman Estate | Yes | Over 20 years old |
| Shiraz | Pokolbin | De Iuliis | Yes | Over 20 years old |
| Shiraz | Pokolbin | Lewis / First Creek | Yes | Over 20 years old |
Fermentation
Fermentation
Under Archie Rose’s strict processing instructions, the grapes were harvested and expressed into wine suitable for brandy and eau-de-vie distillation. The wine showcased a subtle smoky character with an aromatic profile, pronounced acidity and richness of shiraz character that the Hunter Valley region is renowned for.
| Grape Processing | Fermentation |
|---|---|
| Light crush | Yeast: Aromatic M2 |
| Destemmed | Duration: 264 hours |
| Fermentation | Temperature: 16-26 degrees |
| Moderate skin contact | |
| Light press | |
| Left on lees |
Distillation
Distillation
Utilising a unique adaptation of double distilling technique allowed a balance to be struck between the bold character of a pot-distilled spirit and the delicacy and nuance which best articulates a modern and new world vision for a grape spirit. Here science and art meet nature.
| Spirit into still | Spirit out of still | Stills | Manufacturer | Reflux control | Capacity | Average charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fermented wash and low feints | Low wines | Wash still | Knapp Lewer, Tasmania | None | 3600L | 2300L |
| Fores and feints from the previous run and low wines | Heart (firsts, seconds and thirds), fores and feints | Spirit still | Knapp Lewer, Tasmania (modified by Burns Fabrication) | Chilled water jacket | 2100L | 1200L |
