Winery & Vintage Info
Hentley Farm specialise in producing premium quality single-estate and single-block wines solely from the vines grown on their Seppeltsfield property.
The Beast’s little brother... Batches of wine were carefully selected from Shiraz blocks within our vineyard and complemented with parcels from the north-western Barossa to create a wine that displays the treasured characteristics the property naturally produces: saturated colour, fruit intensity and soft, savoury tannins.
This wine is a blend of 12 blocks from within our vineyard, all with variances in top soil depth, subsoil type, row orientation, clonal selection and micro-climate. The top soil is predominately a red clay loam, and the subsoil varies from shattered limestone to salt & pepper siltstone and bluestone at depth. All vines are grown on their own roots.
“Good things come to those who wait.” Nearly everything about the 2018 vintage happened more slowly than usual and we will be rewarded with wines showing a perfect mix of power and elegance. Although we had to wait until July for rains to arrive, the 2017 calendar year rainfall was a once-in-a-30-year event. The long-term weather pattern of two above average rainfall years being followed by a relatively dry year, was seemingly broken, as although we were expecting dryer conditions, we received 120mm above average rainfall, with a total of 599mm. Beautiful spring conditions saw healthy canopies of leaf cover across the vineyard enabling the vines to handle the hot summer with 20 days of above 35°c across January and February. After Budburst in late September and veraision coming a month late in some cases, the extended ripening period was perfect. Harvest returned to the dates of early the 2000’s, spread over an 8-week period. Slow ripening and harvest has seen the production of wines that show a perfect mix of power and elegance with vibrant colours and powerful fruit.
The fruit was crushed and de-stemmed prior to fermentation, during which 2-3 pump overs a day were used to ensure that each wine achieved a full tannin structure. Time on skins ranged from 7-50 days before pressing and settling. The wine completed secondary fermentation in new (10%) and old (90%) French oak barrels, before blending in August, a total maturation period of 10 months. No fining or filtration was used in the production of this wine. Winemaker, Andrew Quin
Blue and red fruits lead the way with liquorice stick, peppercorn and an array of spices lingering in the background. The palate is soft and succulent with bright red fruits through the middle which lead to a back palate showing darker berries and chocolate. While drinkability is the key to this style it is combined with that traditional Barossa richness that we all know and love. Winery Notes
