Tim Adams The Fergus Grenache Tempranillo Malbec 2015 (Clare Valley)

The 2015 vintage is the 22nd release of 'The Fergus', named after the wineries neighbour who was good enough to sell us his Grenache grapes in the vintage of 1993, during a desperate shortage of Shiraz and Cabernet. The winery quickly realised that a wine born from logistics had real potential as a medium, but soft style with immediate food compatibility.

Robust old-vine Grenache grapes left in the vineyard to fully mature, were crushed onto fermented and drained skins of Tempranillo and fermented with selected yeast for one week. The tanks were then topped and closed for another week for extended maceration prior to pressing off skins.
A carefully considered amount of Tempranillo and Malbec were added for increased complexity and fruit expression. The wines were then racked, filtered and transferred to a mixture of older French oak hogsheads. The wine remained in oak for 24 months before blending, filtration and bottling under screwcap for freshness and authenticity.