Reserve a space for Tintilla Estate

After a month of food, wine and festivities, the Hunter Valley Wine and Food Month has come to an end and one new release which received much attention was Tintilla Estate’s iconic Hunter Valley shiraz, the…

Tintilla Estate Reserve Shiraz 2007 (rrp $30)

As is well known, the 2007 vintage was one of the best in the last 20 years for Hunter Valley shiraz, with hot, dry and drought conditions leading to low yields and high quality fruit.  Tintilla’s winemaker James Lusby jokes, “If you did not make a good wine in 2007 you should not be in the winemaking game.” Of course a good vineyard also helps and the red clay soil over limestone conglomerates on a north east sloping hillside at Tintilla means their mature shiraz vines enjoy an ideal growing environment.

James says, “I love the subtleties of Hunter shiraz and with our Reserve Shiraz we are aiming for a flavour based wine, not dominated or inhibited by high alcohol, that will age well. The Hunter’s famed staying power comes from wines with lower alcohol and some old Hunter’s aged perfectly with alcohols around 12.5-13%. Today we pick at 13-13.5%, looking for slightly riper grapes with characteristic Hunter softness and berry fruit flavours.”

“The night harvested grapes were cold soaked to extract maximum fruit and phenolics, and then open fermented.  New (about 30%) and old French and American oak barrels were used for malolactic fermentation and subsequent 12 months ageing before bottling. The result is a wine with all the Hunter characters you could ask for and a wine I could never get bored of, I drank it almost every day of Hunter Valley Wine & Food Month!”

Tintilla also craft their shiraz fruit into two wonderful Fortified wines, the Tintilla Shortland Shiraz and the new Tintilla Old Parish Old Parish 15 Year Barrel Fermented Liqueur Shiraz, the former of which is named after naval officer John Shortland who discovered the Hunter Valley in 1797 and is an ancestor of the Lusby family.

Tintilla Reserve Shiraz 2007 – rrp $30

Tintilla Shortland Shiraz 2008 – rrp $26 (500ml bottle)

Tintilla Old Parish Old Parish 15 Year Barrel Fermented Liqueur Shiraz – rrp $35 (500ml bottle)

All three of these wines have signature Hunter Valley characteristics, and all are fantastic to drink now or to cellar away for that special occasion. Perhaps even a toast to next year’s Hunter Valley Wine & Food Month – any excuse will do!

Tintilla Estate Wines are available direct from www.tintilla.com.au or from their cellar door – 725 Hermitage Road, Pokolbin, NSW 2320

Availability

Direct www.tintilla.com.au    Cellar door: 725 Hermitage Road, Pokolbin, NSW 2320