Luddite Shiraz 2011

Appearance: Dark red and garnet hues. Nose: Spice driven red fruit with hints of liquorice, cinnamon and toasty wood. Palate: Brooding dark fruit and spice. Rich, natural, sweet fruit core. Lingering finish of savoury spice and balanced tannin.
92 pts Wine Enthusiast
89 pts Wine Spectator A fleshy, smoky style, with warmed plum and fig notes lined with hints of ganache, tobacco and mint. The broad finish is backed by a light charcoal edge. Shows good range, but comes up a little short on refinement. Drink now through 2016. 48 cases made. — JM
Bold but had the resultant spice of a cooler vintage. It was also the first time we had a proper crop from our young block. We fermented all these different clones in small batch open fermenters. The old block was fermented in stainless steel tanks with regular pump-overs. Fermentation temperatures were higher than normal due to a non-existent cooling plant (28°C). No skin contact was given after ferment and the wines were pressed into tank to undergo malolactic fermentation. After malolactic fermentation batches of wine showing promise were blended together and pumped into barrel. 30% new oak was used of which 95% of the barrels were French Oak and 5% Hungarian Oak. The rest being 2nd, 3rd and 4th fill. The wine remained in barrels for 24 months after which we blended all the different batches together to create the best possible wine which was then bottled.