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GREENSTONE VINEYARD HEATHCOTE SHIRAZ 2005

The Greenstone vineyard North of Melbourne and offers as pure and exciting expression of Shiraz that you will find in Australia. Made at the Kooyong winery by Alberto Antonini from Tuscany, this wine has depth, weight and elegance along with finely balanced fruit.

VINEYARD
The 40-hectare Greenstone Vineyard, of which 21 hectares are planted to vine, is situated north of the town of Heathcote, a 90 minute drive north of Melbourne, Victoria. The name 'Greenstone' comes from the rocks coloured green by the oxidised iron in the soils. The owners include winemaking consultant, Alberto Antonini and Mark Walpole, chief viticulturist for Brown Brothers.

Greenstone is at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level, on the ridge of old Cambrian soil that runs through the eastern side of the Camel ranges in the Central Highlands. These red, 500 million year old soils are volcanic in origin, with high levels of calcium. This reduces the vines' vigour and is therefore ideally suited to the production of quality wine. The vines are east west in orientation and have high density planting of 4500 vines per ha. The first 10 hectares of Shiraz were planted in 2003, followed by one hectare each of Tempranillo and Monastrell as well as a further eight hectares of Shiraz. One more hectare of Sangiovese was planted in 2005.

GRAPE VARIETIES
100% Shiraz

VINIFICATION
The grapes were hand picked in mid-March and transported to the Kooyong Winery in the Mornington Peninsula where Alberto Antonini and Sandro Mosele, winemaker at Kooyong, work together on the Greenstone wines. The grapes underwent a natural cold soak as fermentation with natural yeasts was slow to start. Maceration lasted 2 weeks in open top fermenters. The cap was punched down by hand to extract good colour and ripe tannins. After fermentation, the wine was aged for a year in French barriques, of which 20% was new oak.

TASTING NOTE
The 2005 Shiraz combines the elegance of mid-Victorian Shiraz with the depth and weight that characterise wines from Heathcote. The elegance derives from excellent vineyard management which
helps retain elegant perfumes in the grapes, while picking when they are fully ripe, but not shrivelled, gives power and balance. The low levels of new oak allow the Shiraz fruit to shine through in the glass. The wine has a deep, youthful purple colour, giving way to a ripe, brambly spicy fruit on the nose. On the palate, the rich, dark plum fruit is balanced by supple, fine-grained tannins and a lifted acidity on the finish. It is long, elegant and well-balanced.

Per Bottle £13.00

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