Winery & Vintage Info
With every vintage St Hallett's winemaking team learn more about the influence of the site on the flavour and quality of the wines.
Stuart Blackwell has been a St Hallett winemaker since 1972 and has been fundamental to its success. This classic and rich Barossa Valley Shiraz pays tribute to his foresight, talent and commitment.
A short winter and warm dry spring got the growing season off to an early start. Well-timed rains in November & January ensured vines had enough moisture to support ripening through to harvest. The early start and healthy ripening conditions after the rain brought on vintage through an ideally mild February and March with many cool nights. The 2016 vintage delivered the ideal vineyard outcomes of excellent yields and quality, and the wines have the potential to become part of the Barossa’s elite and fabled vintages. Barossa Valley Shiraz yields were slightly higher than average, and all the wines show intense colour and flavour with robust tannins.
Blackwell Shiraz is sourced from vineyards planted in the parishes of Ebenezer, Greenock and Moppa Hills. These parishes are in the north west of the Barossa Valley at elevations between 250m and 310m above sea level.
The St Hallett winemaking philosophy is about focussing on the fruit and its provenance. Simply minimal intervention and maximum attention. We tailor our winemaking to the individual parcel using the years of accumulated knowledge we have of these vineyards and their individual characters. The pump over regime and temperature of the ferment varies across the blocks and can also change with the vintage conditions. Times on skins is typically in the range of 8-12 days and ferment temperatures range from 20-30˚C. Once the wine achieves balance on tasting it is pressed off skins and goes directly to barrel where it will age for 12-18 months. We match barrels from a number of cooperages and ages to each parcel. We are looking for balance and flavour integration in the wines before we blend them together to create the Blackwell Barossa Shiraz style.
