Wild Duck Creek's 2017 release of Springflat Shiraz is a dark crimson and fragrant from the outset. The blue and black fruits shine with hints of mocha. This release just oozes class with a combination of 40% new French and American oak maturation for 22 months. The nose shows masses of blackberries, anise and fresh cut flowers. The palate is flavour packed with cherry cola, mulberries, coffee and liquorice. The natural acids are defining, and the mouth feel is palate coating yet smooth. You’re engaged from the first moment this wine enters your mouth. It has an extremely long finish, and as such it will stand up in your cellar for many years. 5% whole bunch during fermentation extracted beautiful layered tannins which are a defining feature of this wine. Cellaring for up to 15 years. 15.8% alc. 100% Shiraz.
Reviews "This wine has been produced since 1991, the original Wild Duck Creek wine. I tasted back to 2001 recently, which was pretty interesting as I often catch myself saying ‘wines like this don’t age so drink them pretty young’, and I am mostly wrong, here. More on that later. Warm berries, liquorice, dark chocolate scents. Choc-liquorice flavours, smooth-as texture, luscious, supple, seductive in its way. The velvety flow barely disturbed by any tannin or acid but holds a full yet noted shape – and long as can be. Ripe berry and plummy fruit, aniseed faintly, clove and cinnamon spice too. Bold wine, holds well, and long will it age…" 95 Points - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, October 2019, Drink: 2019 - 2035
Wild Duck Creek Estate is a small family-run winery situated 8km west of Heathcote, alongside the Wild Duck Creek itself. David (aka ‘Duck’) and Diana planted the first vines in 1974 and in 1979 named the first vineyard “Alan’s Cabernet Vineyard”, after Duck’s late father Alan. The “Original Vineyard” was planted in 1988 on land owned by Diana’s parents. Traditional winemaking methods including hand-picking, open fermentation, hand-plunging, basket-pressing, and long-term barrel-ageing are fostered, as is the use biodynamic principles on their own vineyards.
Duck remains adamant however, that it’s still the vineyard and site selection especially, that dictate great wines. Second-generation winemaking has flourished for more than a decade through Liam, whose methodical yet innovative approaches merge fantastically with Duck’s eccentricity – a humorous and brilliant concoction! The estate’s passion is to produce extraordinary wines of balance and power that enrich and delight the senses.
Springflat Shiraz is a blend of 4 distinct estate grown vineyards in the Heathcote region. Parcels of fruit are made separately, utilising a small amount of whole bunches in the ferments for added texture, hand plunged, basket pressed and then matured in French and American oak hogsheads for up to 22 months, 40% of which are new. Winery Notes
