Tasting Notes
Upon release, this wine was very tight and somewhat closed. Once a bottle had been opened for a few hours the wine began to wake up. In the glass the wine is black, thick and inky with aromas of dark fruits, including blackberries, peppery spice and subtle smoky, charry notes. On the palate the fruit is rich with firm chewy tannins that roll on balanced by subtle mocha notes.

Viticulture
All fruit is sourced from vineyards ranging from 5 to 60 years old in the western ranges of the Barossa Valley. The blocks averaged yields of 2 tonnes per acre and all had soils profiles of deep red clay loam. With mild summer conditions, the vines grew relatively stress free and required minimal irrigation. Flavour in Shiraz reached its full potential later in the season, coinciding with slightly elevated sugar levels, with the resultant wines being rich and powerful.

Vinification & Maturation
Average fermentation time lasted 7 days and was allowed to reach 28oC, with the total time on skins averaging 12 days before pressing to tank. The blended free run and pressings were then rough racked 24 hours later to oak, which consisted of 20% new French barriques and the balance 2-4 year old French barriques and hogs heads. This wine is actually an equal blend of the three vineyards Smidge takes Shiraz from. The best barrel of each parcel found its way into this wine, subsequently there is not much of it.

Like all Smidge reds, malolactic fermentation occurred in barrel and over the 16 months of maturation the wine was cleanly racked twice and then went to bottle without filtration.

Technical Analysis
Harvest date: 10th and 11th March, 6th April 2005
Bottling Date: August 2006
Alc/Vol: 15.5%

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“The most sensational offering in this portfolio is the 2005 Shiraz The Smitch…”
Wine Advocate #167, Oct 2006 (more)