The 2020 Pirathon Blue Label is an overachieving Barossa Valley Shiraz. This bold Barossa Shiraz shows all the hallmarks of modern Barossa Valley Shiraz.
...
The 2020 Pirathon Blue Label is an overachieving Barossa Valley Shiraz. This bold Barossa Shiraz shows all the hallmarks of modern Barossa Valley Shiraz.
Pirathon Blue Label Shiraz helps in the challenge of what to pick by being a consistent, high quality and traditional Barossa Shiraz that you can rely on. For that special occasion you simply do not need to think and worry about what to choose but can rely on this for a good quality, hearty Shiraz
Reviews
90 points - Halliday Wine Companion
“10 to 25 year old Barossa Valley shiraz, destemmed, partial berry, aged 12 months in American and French oak. Purple/red in the glass with an exuberant nose of juicy satsuma plum, jasmine, Asian spice, cherry pie and licorice. There’s a slurpy edge to this one with heady ripe plum and black-fruits, abundant spice, fine tannin and brisk line. Good juicy drinking and great value. Dave Brookes”
93 points - 2022 Barossa Wine Show
93 points - Wine Orbit
“This is instantly appealing on the nose with dark plum, blueberry, rich floral, clove and cedar
characters, followed by a wonderfully weighted palate displaying plump mouthfeel backed by
fine-grained tannins, finishing long and delectable.”
90 Points - Winepilot
“Soft, supple, and delicious, this ready to drink Barossa Shiraz ticks all the boxes for current drinking medium bodied red wine. Lifted red fruit on the nose with supple tannins and a lick of creamy oak to support. Then succulent and flavorsome through to its sustained finish”
Tasting Notes
Palate
Rich in varietal flavours of blood plums, black Cherry and blueberry, the palate is fresh and supple with velvety plush tannins providing length and structure. Maturation in a mix of American and French oak barrels allows for a complexity of oak flavours (spice, vanilla, cedar) but by using only seasoned oak doesn’t distract from the balance and...
Rich in varietal flavours of blood plums, black Cherry and blueberry, the palate is fresh and supple with velvety plush tannins providing length and structure. Maturation in a mix of American and French oak barrels allows for a complexity of oak flavours (spice, vanilla, cedar) but by using only seasoned oak doesn’t distract from the balance and fruit purity. Made for immediate enjoyment but will reward medium term cellaring.
Appearance
Crimson red
Aroma
Lifted blue fruits with hints of florals, warm spice (cinnamon / nutmeg) framed by attractive nougat oak. 12 months in used American and French 300L Hogsheads.
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.
Vineyard
Sourced from multiple vineyards across the Barossa valley, made and blended to the Pirathon house style of fresh and modern with generosity of fruit flavours
Varietal
87% Shiraz, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon The grapes used are grown from traditional Barossa clones first introduced to the region over hundreds of years ago.
When to Drink
Enjoy now or cellar for up to 10 years 14.5% Alcohol Vegan friendly
Vintage Notes
Growing Season
The 2020 growing season was a challenging one viticulturally. The 2019 calendar year was the driest on record for the Nuriootpa weather station with just 291 mm of rain falling. Winter rainfall was close to average, but Spring and early Summer were very dry. Hot weather in November including 42C on Nov 20 impacted flowering for the second year in around. December continued the hot weather with two heat waves impacting vine growth and berry development. Apart from the odd hot day in January temperatures moderated. Maximum temperatures during the harvest months of February and March were 35 C with a big rain event of February 1 providing over 20 mm of welcome rain. Yields as expected with the variable weather conditions were very low but cooler harvest temperatures at least slowed down ripening so there was no rush to harvest quickly.
Vineyard
The grapes were harvested from the low-yielding vineyards of traditional family growers in the north-western Barossa districts of Moppa, Belvidere & Koonunga. Each vineyard adds its own exclusive dimension to Pirathon Shiraz and combined they produce the ultimate blend.
Winemaking
Each vineyard was harvested at optimum maturity from mid February and late March. 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 7-10 days on skins the fermented grapes were pressed with a traditional press. The wines were then filled to new and seasoned French, Hungarian and American oak hogsheads for maturation for 24 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 vineyards in the bottle.
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