2018 Pirathon Gold Label Shiraz
Pirathon Gold Label Shiraz is a culmination of the finest grapes, oak and wine making from the Barossa Valley.
A premium Barossa Shiraz that is rich with powerful flavours and intense aromatics.
Regular Price: $99.00 / bottle
Club Price: $79.20 / bottle
Pirathon Gold Label 2018
Overview
Overview
The Pirathon Gold Label Shiraz was introduced to Pirathon's range in 2016 as a premium reserve wine.
The best grape lots were carefully selected from the 2018 intake with no compromise on quality.
The resulting wine provides a palate of bright fruits balanced with chalky tannins which dominate in this classy, highly integrated, harmonious Barossa Shiraz.
The Pirathon Gold Label Shiraz is for those who want only the very best and cannot settle for anything else. Pirathon Gold Label provides the prestige best of the pick grapes, carefully handled and fermented in the best quality barrels with a taste and appearance that will astound you and your guests
Tasting Notes
A strikingly powerful palate, concentrated flavours typical of the Moppa subregion of brooding dark fruits, star anise and ristretto coffee but with a freshness and elegance that gives the wine an appetising feel. Matured in 100% European oak, hallmark spice and cedar notes are woven into the high quality Barossa Valley fruit with flavours that are persistent and linger. This wine will cellar gracefully and continue to improve in complexity for many years, decanting is recommended.
Intense black core with bright purple hues
Youthful primary fruit aromatics of boysenberry and black fruits complemented by fragrant cedar, nutmeg and cinnamon oak aromatics
Technical Detail
Region
Barossa Valley, South Australia.
One of Australia's oldest and most premium wine regions, famous for it's Shiraz around the world.
Fermentation
Destemmed and crushed berry
Primary: Select Yeast. Secondary: Wild Malolactic.
Open top fermentation, 7-12 days on skins.
Sub-Regions
Moppa
The grapes were harvested from the low-yielding vineyards of traditional family growers in the north-western Barossa.
Elevation approximately 300-350m.
Barrels
100% French Oak
25% New French hogshead, 12.5% New Hungarian hogshead, balance old
18 months
Varietal
100% Shiraz
The grapes used in Pirathon Gold Label are grown from traditional Barossa clones first introduced to the region over hundreds of years ago.
Bottling
750 cases produced
Unfined and unfiltered
Harvest
1 Lots in March 2018
The best lots selected.
Average yield of 1 tonne per acre.
Sugar at harvest 14.8 Baume.
When to Drink
Enjoy now or cellar for 10-15 years
15.5% Alcohol
Vegan friendly
Vintage Notes
Growing Season
The 2018 Barossa Valley growing season started off well, with winter rainfall around 10% higher than average ensuring soil profiles were full. Spring saw moderate rainfall with a warmer than average October and November allowing vine canopies to grow quickly. Weather conditions allowed for good flowering and fruit set which resulted in good bunch numbers.
January and early February were hot and dry in particular night time temperatures which were well above average causing the slowing down of ripening. After February 9 the season changed to an Indian Summer with dry conditions continuing but temperatures much more moderate with only two days reaching 35 C. This led to perfect harvest conditions allowing each block to ripen slowly. Yields were down due to the small berry size, but this led to wines with amazing colour and flavour concentration.
Vineyard
The grapes were harvested from the low-yielding vineyards of traditional family growers in the north-western Barossa districts of Moppa. These two long term partners of Pirathon's are rich with history and produce some of the finest Shiraz in the world.
Winemaking
Each vineyard was harvested at optimal maturity. Following harvest, each individual lot of grapes was crushed into a separate open top fermenter. During fermentation, hand pump-overs gently extracted colour and flavour from the grapes. After 7-12 days on skins the fermented grapes were pressed with a traditional press. The wines were then filled to new and seasoned French oak and Hungarian hogshead for maturation for eighteen months before each lot of wine was racked from the barrel and carefully blended. The wine was bottled without fining, ensuring the true expression of the vineyard in the bottle.