Piano Piano Henry's Block Shiraz 2017 (Beechworth)

The Piano Piano Henry's Block Shiraz has been planted on the North East facing slope in decomposed granite. This soil is characterised by white granitic pebbles on the surface of a decomposed granite loam mix. At a depth of one meter the underlying clay is critical to the water holding capacity of the block whilst the granitic soils supply that rare, ethereal quality that makes Henry’s Block Shiraz so special. To enhance the cool climate quality of the fruit, vine rows have been planted in an East West orientation. Four Shiraz clones were selected to add complexity and spice and the vines were also planted at 1.2m x 2.4m.

A cooler and slightly wetter than average winter delayed the start of the growing season. The vineyard experienced regular rainfall and warm temperatures throughout the spring. This was followed by warm and dry summer months. Even though the temperatures during the ripening period were slightly up on average, we did not experience any days of extreme heat. This consistently warm weather enabled the grapes to develop lovely full flavours.

The block was hand picked on 10th and 17th March 2018. The grapes were gently crushed, allowing a large percentage of whole berries to remain unbroken. 10% whole bunches were also added to the fermenter. The wine was traditionally fermented using the vineyard’s indigenous yeast in open vats. It was gently hand plunged four times per day and it remained on skins for two weeks. After pressing, the wine was matured for 20 months in French oak and hogsheads and barriques (32% New,) before being prepared for bottling with minimal filtration.