Winery & Vintage Info
There is no doubting the pedigree of the flagship wine in the Seppelt wine portfolio, the stunning St Peters Shiraz. First released in 1964 as the Great Western Hermitage, it is a wine that is only released in the finest vintages, with fruit sourced from the remarkable, low-yielding Seppelt vineyard sites in the Great Western region. The weathered volcanic soils, red-brown earth and granitic sands of the St Peters and Imperial vineyards, planted in the 1930s contribute to this majestic wine along with select parcels of fruit from the younger Police, Arrawatta and McKenzie vineyards.
It is a wine that has captivated many a wine drinker over the years. Rated Excellent in the Langtons Wine Classification it is a wine of restrained purity and power, with beautifully rendered black and dark berry fruits, fine, ripe powdery tannins and a line of shimmering acidity. With a noble track record in the cellar, it is a wine that, while able to provide immense drinking enjoyment in its youth, will repay careful cellaring handsomely.
The flagship wine in the Seppelt portfolio, St Peters is sourced from the finest and most intense fruit grown on our Great Western vineyards and is the ultimate expression of cool climate Grampians Shiraz. The lineage of this iconic wine dates back to 1964 when Great Western Hermitage was first made. The wine is only made in exceptional years and is now called St Peters after the name of our most historic block of Shiraz.
This wine, made in very small quantities, is a carefully balanced medium bodied wine that displays complex flavours reflective of the local terroir. An outstanding release of St Peters that reflects the superb 2012 vintage; this is a wine to enjoy upon release but will improve with many years of careful cellaring.
Select parcels off the Great Western Vineyard were fermented on skins (with partial whole bunch and whole berry) in open fermenters for 10 days. Followed by maturation for 14 months in a combination of 3000 L vat and 225 L barrels (with 40% New French oak).
Vibrant deep red with crimson hues. A complex, perfumed nose of blackberry fruit, spice and floral notes with toasty oak in the background.
The medium-bodied palate displays concentrated black fruits with spicy nutmeg and star anise characters supported by fine, velvety tannins and cedary oak. Subtle graphite and mineral textures combine with the fruit resulting in a complex and refined finish. Drinking well from 2014, this fine example of Great Western Shiraz will have a 50 year longevity. Winery Notes
"Not entirely from the original St Peters vineyard; indeed, mostly not. From three vineyards, St Peters, Imperial and a (comparatively) newer vineyard, though all three vineyards are fully mature. It sees 40% new oak though some of this oak is large format vats. 1100 cases. Exquisite release. Meat, subtle pepper, black cherry, plum. Tight, like a tiger, but expresses enough even in its youth to have you hooked. Pure silk. Floral highlights. Graphite. Toasted cedarwood. Entirely seductive but poise is its middle name. Ripping. Totally ripping."
96 Points - Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front
"Sourced from the 90-year-old block adjacent to the winery and from other old plantings in the region; open-fermented and hand-plunged, matured in new and used French barriques for 14 months. The black fruit iron fist in the flowery, spicy velvet glove will guarantee the wine a prodigiously long life; it has the innate balance and length the region can provide like few others."
97 Points - James Halliday Wine Companion
