Pirathon Silver Shiraz 2016 (Barossa Valley)

ShirazPirathon is an ancient word for pinnacle and we believe Shiraz is the pinnacle grape of the Barossa and that the north-western Barossa is the pinnacle sub- appellation for Shiraz. Pirathon Shiraz is a full-bodied wine encompassing the great flavour, texture and structure of the north-western Barossa.
Higher altitude, gullies, hills, slopes, and undulations provide different topographies, microclimates and individualistic parcels of grapes with unique flavours and characters from their own site. We work with dedicated high-quality growers in the north-western Barossa, many of whom have been growing grapes here for generations. Pirathon Shiraz showcases and celebrates the pinnacle north- western Barossa region and pinnacle Barossa grape with a complex and distinguished wine.
Vintage 2016 was hot and dry resulting in grapes ripening earlier than average. Winter and Spring rainfall was down by 38% whilst growing season temperatures were up by 3 degrees. Some welcome rain came at the end of January refreshing the vines and giving them good moisture to ripen to maturity. Yields from 2016 are solid and importantly quality is stunning. 2016 is certainly a star vintage with bright intense wines of great flavour intensity and inherent balance.
The grapes were harvested from the low-yielding vineyards of traditional family growers in the north-western Barossa districts of Greenock, Moppa, Belvedere, Stonewell, Seppeltsfield, Koonunga and Ebenezer. Each vineyard adds its own exclusive dimension to Pirathon Shiraz and combined they produce the ultimate blend.
Each vineyard was harvested at optimum maturity across a two-month period from February 12th to April 6th. Following harvest, each individual lot of grapes was crushed into a separate open top fermenter. During fermentation, hand pump-overs gently extracted colour and flavour from the grapes. After 7-10 days on skins the fermented grapes were pressed with a traditional press. The wines were then filled to new and seasoned American, French, Russian and Hungarian oak hogsheads for maturation for eighteen months before each lot of wine was racked from the barrel and carefully blended. The wine was bottled without fining, ensuring the true expression of the vineyards in the bottle.
Vegan Friendly. Winery Notes