Cascabel Shiraz 2003

2003 Cascabel Shiraz 91pts from Parker's Wine Advocate #161 DAMAGED LABELS from warehouse accident. Old world style, dark chocolate, bitter cherry, coffee grounds

Tasting Notes

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Color: deep dark red; Nose: subtle earth and barrel, with good depth of fruit; Palate: rich, concentrated and succulent. Black fruit intensity with good grip in the finish.

Food Accompaniments

Eggs with Truffles, Leg of mutton with French Beans, Pigeon Pie

Awards, Reviews and other Notes

91pts Robert Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate #161 10/31/05 "The 2003 Shiraz is a terrific, tightly-knit offering that has more in common with a Côte Rôtie than most Australian Shiraz. Aged in 20% new 500 liter French puncheons, and 80% neutral wood, it reveals a floral nose of violets, honeysuckle, black raspberries, and cassis. Boasting extraordinary elegance and complexity as well as an opulent, multi-layered palate, good acidity, and a ripe, heady finish, this beauty can be drunk now and over the next 7-8 ears."

91 pts Stephen Tanzer International wine Cellar July/Aug 2007
Dark red. This smells like the Northern Rhone: blackberry, dark cherry, smoked meat, candied violet, sweet underbrush, cinnamon, cocoa powder and graphite. Firm on entry, then juicy and bright, the dark berry tones showing lovely expanse and depth, with a tangy mineral note driving the flavors. Notes of espresso, tobacco and bitter chocolate come up on the back end but this is all about bright, energetic red- and blackcurrant fruit, with a full range of floral and mineral accents. I'd love to see this beauty in a Cote-Rotie tasting.

Winemaker Notes

Viticultural practices:
Yields per acre: 2 tonnes per acre
Cases produced: 570 dozen
Appellation: Fleurieu
Filtration and fining: None
Varietal composition: Shiraz 100%
Wood treatment: 20% new French Barrels (Puncheons 500 L) with the remaining 2 and 3 year old
Length of barrel maturation: 18 months

Grapes from a vineyard near Victor Harbor continue to be the best choice for our Cascabel Shiraz. The area is on the southern tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula, facing the Southern Ocean and consequently, less affected by the hot and dry weather we experience in McLaren Vale, where our vineyard and winery are located. The vineyard is 1.5 Km from the sea, 20 mts elevated. The soil is sandy loam and very well drained. Dry grown, the trellis system has a single wire and spur pruned. We only want hand picked grapes and this system allows him to manage the vine canopy while discouraging high crop levels.

Winemaker's notes: Hand picked in late March 2003, 14.5º Bè Fermented in 1.5 tonnes small stainless steel open fermenters, with some whole bunches and regular hand plunging, the remaining in a closed stainless tank with regular pumps over. Macerated on skins for 3 to 4 weeks after fermentation and allowed to reach reasonably high temperatures. We never add tannin and we achieve the right tannins with extended maceration. This may sacrifice fruitiness gain order to gain better palate structure. Pressed straight into barrel and Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally after fermentation. Bottled in February 2005.

Vintage 2003 was very dry. A cool Spring followed by a mild Summer, again gave a small crop of intensely flavoured grapes but somehow richer and riper that previous years.

Chemical Analysis

Price

SKU

Varietal

Alcohol: 14.7%
pH: 3.65
Total Acid: 6.2
Residual Sugar: 1.4
Free/Total Sulfur: 19/50

$8.99

5100

Shiraz