Ladies who Shoot Their Lunch Shiraz 2015

Deep-rubied with a tight rim, it is an excellent food wine(firm mid-palate) best with the wild game(though the dryer, peppery style of Roast Goose is very suitable as well), this wine reflects the balance of warm and cool climate. Dark fruited; chocolaty; black preppery; beef jerkied ; Northern Rhone styled Shiraz; bodied and dried finish; with fine, savoury tannins. This elegant and seductive 2015 Shiraz describes well as an Aussie version of Cote-Rotie!

The Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Shiraz was 2015 fermented in stainless steel tanks to preserve primary fruit flavours and matured for 12 months using a combination of new and old English and French oak. One-quarter of the wine aged in 140-year-old, 5,000-liter English oak casks, and two 6,000 litre new French oak casks. One quarter matured in one, two and three-year-old French oak puncheons. The balance maintained as a fresh, fruity parcel in stainless steel.

This winery area is undoubtedly not a tourist attraction; the production area is windy, open and situates above 600m. Rainfall is significantly low(320mm!). It takes quite an excursion to this dry land of Central Victoria(150km northeast of Melbourne, so the wine is more Goldburn in character rather than Yarra).

Awarded James Halliday 95 points, this winery also gets a 5-star rating from James Halliday's Wine Companion. The stylistics is closer to Northern Rhone than that of Australians. The wine-making style is very Northern Rhone as well, for example, co-fermentation of red Shiraz grape with white Viognier) and sugar fermented out(!). Fermented in stainless steel tanks to preserve primary fruit flavours and matured for 12 months using a combination of new and old English and French oak.

95 Points, James Halliday

“The colour shows youthful red and purple hues. On the nose are intense aromatics of blueberry, some black pepper, subtle spicy oak and dark chocolate. The palate is ripe with red fruits, subtle spices and a silky finish.”