The Pirathon Gold 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.
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The Pirathon Gold 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 Shiraz is for those who want only the very best and cannot settle for anything else. Pirathon Gold 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.
Reviews
96 Points - Wine Orbit
“Gloriously opulent and powerful, the wine shows black/blueberry, cedar, pepper spice, floral and cocoa characters on the nose, leading to an immensely concentrated palate displaying lush mouthfeel and silky tannins. It’s packed with delicious flavours backed by chalky tannins, finishing persistent and sturdy.”
94 points - Halliday Wine Companion 2021
“Matured in French oak, 67% new. It’s an incredibly smoky and an incredibly tannic wine with tar, salted caramel, licorice, coconut and spearmint flavours gushing through. The smokiness of this wine can’t be emphasised enough; it makes for a distinctive profile. This wine’s huge arms of tannin and big body of baked fruit will see it live and mature for a whopping long time.” Campbell Mattinson. 1 February 2020
93 points - Wine Front
“Gold. You’ve got the power to know! Quite similar to the ‘Black’ but just a bit more oomph. Blackberry, sage, toasted oak, spice and earth. Full-bodied, concentrated blackberry and dark chocolate flavour, toast and dried herb, thick tannin, and a dried herb perfumed finish of excellent length. Has density and concentration, also a fair amount of oak. Bold style, needing a few years to settle.”
93 Points - Regan Drew
“Dense and dark in the glass, it actually feels heavy to swirl. No shortage of powerful aromas.: Wood, concentrated plum, chocolate, baking spices, thick vanilla bean paste and just fired shotgun cartridge. The palate equally as dense as the colour. Concetrated, syrupy with smoked meats, bittersweet chocolate and blood plum. It’s viscous with large swathes of coffee ground pervasive tannins. The flavour lasts long with a smoky trail. One for the hedonists.”
92 Points - Cameron Douglas
“Ripe, dark fruited and leathery bouquet. Clove and vanilla, walnut and sweet meat aromas. Black currant, blueberry and some dark plum aromas. Dry, spicy, black pepper and cocoa flavours; leather and dark berries, black rose and velvet. Firm tannins, medium acidity and lengthy finish. A classic example, balanced and well made. Drink now and through 2024.”
5 stars - The Wine Writer
“Inky dark purple in colour. Decant for an hour to fully experience this wine. Complex and concentrated aromas and flavours of dark fruit, purple floral notes, dense spices, cigar box and a touch of sweet cassis. Super fine, dusty tannins and a very long fruit driven finish.”
Tasting Notes
Palate
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 ...
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.
Appearance
Intense black core with bright purple hues.
Aroma
Youthful primary fruit aromatics of boysenberry and black fruits complemented by fragrant cedar, nutmeg and cinnamon oak aromatics.
Technical Details
Region
Barossa Valley, South Australia. One of Australia's oldest and most premium wine regions, famous for it's Shiraz around the world.
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.
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.
Fermentation
Destemmed and crushed berry Primary: Select Yeast. Secondary: Wild Malolactic. Open top fermentation, 7-12 days on skins.
Barrels
100% French Oak 25% New French hogshead, 12.5% New Hungarian hogshead, balance old 18 months
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.
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