Berton Winemakers Reserve  Shiraz

The Berton Winemakers Reserve Shiraz is an extreme example of this style, deep colour, huge palate and high alcohol. This wine upholds the tradition with strong blackberry and plum aromas over toast, vanilla and spice. The palate is full flavoured and intense with rich blackberry, plum, blueberry and spicy characters. The tannins are very ripe and dense giving great structure and length to the palate.

Berton Vineyards was established in 1996 by Bob and Cherie Berton when they purchased a block of land in High Eden, a subregion of the Barossa Valley, South Australia. This idyllic property sits 450m above sea level on gently rolling hills – except for the Chardonnay block which is anything but gentle!!

Bob and Cherie set about planting the first Berton Vineyard cuttings that spring – ten acres of Shiraz and seven acres of Chardonnay – without any permanent water – it wasn’t until the following year, in 1998 when the dam filled that the vines got a decent drink!! It was due to these conditions and the seemingly hydrophobic podsolic soils that the vines struggled to become established. After a few years where the vines still looked like rootlings, a Swedish friend jokingly called it the bonsai vineyard, but the High Eden has a high annual rainfall so the vines are looking good these days.

In 2005 the decision was made to purchase a winery to process the 1000 odd tonnes that was produced at the High Eden Vineyard. In 2005 when the former Southcorp winery in Yenda became available, Bob and Cherie joined with Jamie Bennett, Paul Bartholomaeus and James Ceccato to form Berton Vineyards the company. The winery was purchased and the guys moved to their new home in November 2005. For the next few months they were kept busy buying up fruit and arranging contact crushing for the 2006 vintage.

Shiraz is the name given to the dark-skinned Syrah grape when grown in Australia and selected pockets of the New World. Though genetically identical, the stylistic differences between Shiraz and Syrah are pronounced enough to consider them distinct varieties. Shiraz is so important to Australian viticulture that it is the most planted grape variety in the majority of Australian vineyards and is virtually synonymous with wine regions such as the Barossa Valley. There has been tangible shift in the way much Australian Shiraz is made, with cool-climate styles coming into their own and complexity gaining ground over the sheer power of the wines made last century. A new generation of wines has emerged, working towards the elegantly spicy styles of the northern Rhone.

www.bertonvineyards.com.au/

Berton Winemakers Reserve Shiraz - Hay Wines