By Dan Coward
Straw cover in Scholz vineyard
In my previous vintage update I mentioned St Hallet’s small batch system. The value of this approach becomes very clear when I’m bumping around the vineyard in Toby’s 4×4 on his rounds of the vineyards. Along with Viticulturist and Grower Liaison, Chris Rogers, in the back, there isn’t much these two don’t know about how Shiraz behaves in the different sub-regions of the Barossa.
Our remit for the day covered the Fechner vineyard in the warmer end of the Eden Valley (of which 2 acres hold 104 year old vines…think Old Block), the amazing Scholz vineyard in Ebenezer (which provides the heart of the mid palate of Blackwell), the Marshall Groom vineyard in Kalimna (which adds the more of the high notes and fragrance to Blackwell), the Hampel vineyard (which goes into the beautiful single vineyard Shiraz of the same name) and finally the Obst Vineyard in the area they like to call Moppa Hills. Chris and Toby came over all misty-eyed when we tasted around the 20 hectare Obst vineyard. Set on gentle slopes that form a natural amphitheatre shape, this is pure Faith Shiraz country and is a spot that the boys reckon they’d like to own one day. The fruit ripens differently around this large vineyard and the character and personality of the grapes change depending on the different soil types, aspect etc. Apart from all that, head to the top corner and you get a beautiful view rolling away from you. Unfortunately the current grower owners have already had the sense to put their house there and they come out and say hi, dogs and all.
Obst vineyard view
After getting a really good sense of the vineyard and the fruit ripeness, which is right on schedule and a couple of weeks off picking, we head to the winemaker’s best friend during vintage…the pie shop. Quick Cornish Pasty and we’re back to the winery to taste some of the batches that have made it into tank already.
We tasted through the fruit in from a wide range of classic St Hallett vineyards. I won’t go through them all here, but have picked out those that are destined for the Blackwell Shiraz, to show how different vineyards form the various building blocks for the final wine. These are only a handful as plenty of the fruit is still yet to come in (like the Marshall Groom and Scholz vineyards mentioned earlier).
Russell Original vineyard – intense black fruit, almost malevolent, from the eastern slopes of the valley, behind Krondorf
Baulch vineyard – much punchier, from the Seppeltsfield area, this will form the spine of Blackwell. Good tannin pull-through, rustic, you can feel the weight and density. Early this year
Hentley Farm vineyard – key Blackwell component for its inky concentration. Looks absolutely awesome, with dark cherry fruit and meaty, minerally components – complex
Working three shifts, 24 hours a day
Overlay the pressures of the picking, crushing and tank-filling schedule and it’s easy to see what a skilful juggling act is needed to produce the best possible, most authentic Blackwell Shiraz each year. All the signs in 2010 are good. The fruit is coming along well, without any unexpected twists, no bad news on the weather front and a winery crew cranking along. Working three shifts (for the first time), 24 hours a day, Toby and Chris have the luxury of spending those extra few hours in the vineyards, talking to the growers, the picking bosses and the weather forecasters (!) just to ensure they make that all important small step, from good to exceptional.
Tags: Australia, Harvest diary, Harvest report, St Hallett
Any idea why Toby is looking so much more excited in the bottom photo than the top one?
Excited and slightly shifty…