After being away from Aussie wines for so long following a shiraz drenched vintage out in the Barossa, I'm back on it. Gotta say, it's good to be back. I've missed the intensity and punchyness of these types of wines.
The Gemtree Vineyards White Lees Shiraz 2006 from the Maclaren Vale is a definate killer wine. Its got an immense nose, blasting Butterscotch, dark olives, crème of cassis, violets, blueberries, plums and liquorice.the colour is typically australian, deep deep red, with a touch of violet, purple. It inks the glass, leaving long legs and a lovely pink stain down the glass. On the palate the this wine is rich, probably with a bit of added tartaric acid, super concentrated. there's not a huge hearth of alcohol roaring through, rather a staedy delivery of warmth, like waking up on a summers day. This wines pretty good, it's a touch expensive, but then only 300 case were made.
Here's the interesting part,
"The story: Winemaker, Mike Brown was emptying some freshly fermented white wine out of new French oak barrels. Left behind in the barrels were the remnants of yeast called 'lees'. Normally the lees are emptied out before the next wine is added. Whilst rolling the first barrels to empty them, Mike tasted the lees in a tub and found they had extraordinary flavour. They were fluffy, crunchy, and looked very "alive" and healthy. He decided to transfer top grade Shiraz into the French oak barrels on top of the white lees. Over the next 28 months the experiment began to take shape, and what has evolved is a unique beast!! The white lees have acted as a preserving agent, protecting this wine from normal ageing characteristics, hence with the extraordinary quality of the 2006 vintage combined with the natural preserving abilities of the lees, we have a wine that is truly remarkable".
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