‘King Billy’ Shiraz

Just our fifth release of ‘King Billy’, this is the first time it’s Shiraz. Our pitch for ‘King Billy’ was that it would always be the best wine of the vintage and, though the Cabernet was very, very good in 2017, this parcel of Shiraz was even better! Our best parcel of Shiraz from mature vines from our Langton vineyard, was selected as being suitable for our reserve Shiraz. Once it went to barrel, there was a further assessment with six of the very best barriques being designated as ‘King Billy’ material. It matured for 22 months in French oak (90% new barriques; 10% once used) before bottling in March 2019. It was then allowed to mature in bottle for 3+ years before being labelled for release. Extended maturation in bottle rather than in oak has ensured that this wine has retained its vibrant fruit while developing its secondary characters and still has further capacity for cellaring.

COLOUR

A good depth of dark crimsony red.

AROMA

Lovely, rich and inticing on the nose. Has well integrated aromas of spicy dark plums and smoky red berry fruits, beautifully complexed by the lifted, sweet, French oak characters from its time in barrel.

PALATE

This is a very well flavoured and very well integrated wine. Typical of Shiraz, there’s a generosity on the palate with its complex spicy plum and berry fruit flavours blending seamlessly with the oak characters. Has great mouthfeel and a beautiful suppleness from its bottle maturation. Rich and opulent there’s also an attractive subtlety to this Shiraz and, with its delicate acidity and super fine, well integrated tannins, it has great length and a beautiful finish.

CELLARING POTENTIAL

Our 2017 King Billy Shiraz is so well integrated it is superb now but will surely reward further cellaring, say 5+ years.