The Taltarni Pyrenees Old Vine Estate Shiraz 2019 shows elegance and balance, with layer upon layer of flavours complemented by a solid core of currants, plums, and spicy aromatics. The palate is medium weight with succulence and seamless silky tannins and lingers long after the wine.
"Lots to sink the teeth into here. A distinctly deep, brooding, tobacco, clove, cedar laden red of chewy texture and drying finish. Bold, rich, heady, thick set but also just over medium weight, an inky wine that feels of pedigree and polish, intensity and concentration. Tense, taut and inward is the deal. It really feels quite coiled and pent up, yet to reveal more, and in that way impressive and intriguing. A wine for deep cellaring. Lovely stuff." 93+ Points - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, July 2021, Drink: 2023 - 2035+
Harvested from the oldest Shiraz vines (Block 21) planted on the Taltarni estate in the late 1960s, this wine is crafted in the vineyard, with fruit and shoot thinning during the season to keep yields to below 5 tonnes/ha, for balance and fruit concentration. Then, the parcel is handled separately in the winery from arrival. This wine shows the intensity in our old vines, great complexity and quality, year in year out.
The 2020 Vintage produced optimal growing conditions for the Pyrenees reds, the fruit exhibited intense flavours while maintaining a balanced structure. These growing conditions also allowed the fruit to be harvested at ideal stages, to get the best from the fruit.
The fruit was harvested in the cool of the morning and crushed into a small open top fermenter, 30% of the fruit remains as whole bunches. It was then inoculated and headed-down to enable silky tannin and rich red fruit extraction. Using a combination of heading-down and a small amount of pump overs, the ferment was managed over 10 days at higher temperatures which resulted in a delicacy of the fruit and structure to be extracted but showing the terroir of the vineyard as well. Towards the end of the ferment, malolactic fermentation is introduced and allowed to finish in 30% new and seasoned French oak barriques.
