Back in 2008, when the Aussie category began struggling at the higher price points, Stuart Miller made the decision to take the wine from their old ‘Jimmy’s Section’ vineyard and age it in used barrels instead of new ones. This enabled him to hit a much lower price point, and as such, the Red Silk Shiraz was born. The only difference between this wine and his famous “Jimmy’s Section Shiraz” is the oak treatment and the addition of fruit from their other `Nine Gums’ vineyard. Winemaking is pretty simple here – hand picking, open tank fermenting, with persistent hand plunging, 100% basket pressing, French oak ageing and then finally, bottling unfiltered and unfined. Conspicuously absent is the slight menthol note that often accompanies McLaren Vale valley floor renditions of shiraz. Instead, what you’ll find in Stuart’s old vine shiraz is pure blueberry reduction, atop a luscious platform of mocha and ground coffee beans. This is textbook McLaren Vale Shiraz!

The base to this wine (about 20-30%) is the same fruit that goes into the Jimmy Section Shiraz, grown on our home vineyard, on Seaview Road. Since 2017, about 50% of the fruit comes from our 20 acre, `Nine Gums` vineyard. 25 years old, East/West rows, planted on rich Urrbrea soils, with elevation 100m above sea level. We get a little fruit from a small grower, also located on Seaview Rd – that makes up the remaining, roughly 20%. Grapes are machine picked, determined by flavor. They are then crushed/destemmed into 3 & 5 ton open fermenters, where hand plunging & pump overs are done 3 times a day. Fruit is fermented to dryness on skins (avg 10-12 days). Malolactic fermentation and maturation take place in a combination of French & American 300L barrels (20% new), for 12-18 months. Wine is then coarse filtered and bottled without any fining. This style is softer than Jimmy’s Section Shiraz and can be enjoyed today or cellared for 10+ years.