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The Agonist Shiraz Cabernet

$39.00
$39.00
Carbon Neutral
Certified Organic
Vegan Friendly

Profile

Dryness
Dry
Fruitiness
Body
Acidity
Tannins
Oak
Colour
Dark Ruby
Vintage
2017

Colour

Dark Ruby

Overview

Elegant and rich, hand-picked fruit seasoned with new French and American oak. Dry, medium-full bodied, with silky, full tannins.

Vintage

2017

Peak Drinking

Drink now or cellar for up to 20 years

Velvet Intellect | Dark and edgy souls. A little aloof; too cool for cool-climate peers. Hand-picked black fruit seasoned with French and American new oak. Moody sage gives way to blood plum and rose petal.

The Agonist range is the romantic anthology between organic farming and scientific enquiry.
This single vineyard delight was inspired by our long-standing dedication to sustainable practices.

Certified Organic | Low Preservative | Carbon Neutral | Vegan Friendly | Single Vineyard | Hand Picked

Vintage: 2017

Blend: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Eden Valley

Palate

Dark brambly fruits and orange peel upfront on the palate, followed by charred oak notes of coffee and hazelnuts, silky full tannins add great persistence to the palate.

Nose

Blueberry, cranberry, strawberry, mulberry, and sage with dark chocolate, and maraschino cherry.

Food Pairing

Eggplant Parmigiana or Greek braised lamb with olives

Grapes & Location

Grape Variety:
Shiraz 62%
Cabernet Sauvignon 38%
Region:
Eden Valley 100%

The cooler climate of Eden Valley, has added elegance and richness of fruit. Eden Valley is known for its rolling exposed hills with steep gradients, and this is exactly where the Shiraz and Cabernet blocks lie at Eden Valley. The soil is varied at our Eden Valley vineyard but mainly consists of clay loam and loamy sand with quartz gravel in the subsurface and surface. Our Eden Valley Vineyard was purchased in 2011 from a friend who was retiring. We had a strong connection to this vineyard as most of the planted vines were grown at the Temple Bruer Vine Nursery. The vineyard has undergone some much-needed reconstruction and development. The shiraz block was completely reworked in 2012 and continual improvements have been made over the years.

Wine Analysis

ABV: 14.5%
ASD: 8.6
pH: 3.51
TA
6.0
RS: 1.2 g/L
Free S02: 4 ppm
Total S02: 9 ppm

Winemaking/Vinification

Shiraz was hand picked on the 11th April and the cabernet sauvignon was the last parcel of a very long vintage in on the 3rd May. Acid concentration in the berries was exceptionally good as the weather through the growing season was cool. The grapes were crushed, de-stemmed and cooled to 5ºC for a cold soak. The must was allowed to naturally warm for fermentation which lasted 8 days. The wine was then left on skins for 4 days and pressed into 100% new French and American oak for 12 months before bottling.

Vintage Conditions

A late start to picking and a cool growing season saw the end of vintage in May, one of the latest vintages we have ever had at Temple Bruer. A wet winter in 2016 provided our vineyards with a good lead up to the growing season. We then saw a cool and wet spring which delayed flowering, followed by a mild summer with rain events. Good health and balance in our vineyards ensured minimal disease pressure and great quality from our 2017 vintage.