The Agonist Shiraz Cabernet

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

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

Eggplant Parmigiana or Greek braised lamb with olives

The cooler climate of Eden Valley has added elegance and richness to the fruit. Eden Valley is known for its rolling exposed hills with steep gradients, and this is exactly where the shiraz and cabernet blocks lie. The soil is varied at our 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 nursery in Langhorne Creek. 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.

The shiraz was hand picked on April 11th and the cabernet sauvignon was the last parcel to be picked during a very long vintage on May 3rd. 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.

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.