The Beast 2022 by Hentley Farm boasts bold and complex flavors, embodying a strong concentration and richness. This robust wine is expertly balanced with soft, grippy tannins and enticing complexity. It is a traditional Barossa Valley Shiraz with dense aromas of black fruit and spices. The palate is intense and full-bodied, featuring notes of black raspberry, cedar, blackberry, and vanilla bean. The hints of dark chocolate and tobacco add depth to this exceptional wine.
"Sporting an awesome magenta-splashed crimson hue in the glass, this smells Barossa through and through. Deep, deep blackberry and satsuma fruits, studded with ironstone and hints of fruitcake spice, grilled figs, Old Gold chocolate, turned earth and roasting meats. Weighty and full-bodied, there's plenty of latent power here, balanced despite the heady 15.2% alc with fine, sedimentary tannins, leaving no doubt that it will cellar admirably.” 95 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday's Wine Companion, 22nd October 2024
The Beast, a fitting partner to the Beauty, is a wine of intensity. Selected from a single block high on the estate peak, where the soils are shallow and exposure to sunlight is long, the Beast embodies a powerful concentration of flavour and bold richness.
Average winter rainfall was experienced, with above average rainfall in spring. The Barossa experienced warm a warm spring and summer with no extreme heat events resulting in consistent flowering, and healthy canopy. Summer saw below average rainfall, with light rainfall in Autumn. Summer days were cool (below average) and cool nights resulting in mild, even consistent ripening conditions with gradual & dense flavour accumulation and high natural acid.
Harvested between the 11th to the 18th of March 2022. De-stemmed, left on skins for 10-12 days. Open pump-overs and hand plunging. Basket pressed. French Oak 60% new, 40% seasoned. Natural malolactic fermentation, 22 months maturation.
