Bouquet Lifted liqueur cherry, fresh raspberries and blackberries are infused with a Christmas pudding spice, dark, bitter chocolate, liquorice and hints of cedar. Palate A classic McLaren Vale combination of rich fruit, dark chocolate and an underlying earthiness. The palate shows both poise and power with a combination of structural and silky tannin and a shape, line and focus that will reward careful cellaring. Drink Can be enjoyed upon release, but will live for 20+ years with careful cellaring. Food Match Slow cooked beef osso buco with rosemary, parsnips and red wine. Vineyards Wirra Wirra sources fruit from a combination of owned vineyards and premium McLaren Vale growers. The blend of individual vineyard and sub-regional characteristics is the key to the resulting style. Blended from a diverse combination of old vine McLaren Vale sites - typically low in vigour, producing modest yields of intense fruit. Soils range from red clay and limestone to deep sands over ironstone base. Oak Maturation Each vineyard block was individually assessed for barrel selection and matured separately for 15 months in 100% French (predominantly Burgundian) oak prior to blending. The final blend comprised of approximately 30% new oak, the balance coming from predominantly two to three year old barrels. Vinification Harvested at optimal tannin and flavour ripeness, the separate fruit parcels from each vineyard were picked in small batches to maintain distinct different vineyard characters and fermented separately in two tonne open fermenters. Each ferment was tasted twice daily once fermentation commenced, to determine the level of hand plunging and maceration required during fermentation. At the required level of tannin and fruit extraction, each ferment was basket pressed with winemakers making the ‘press cut’ at the first sign of tannin hardness. After pressing, the wine was transferred to a tailored selection of French oak barriques and puncheons in which they completed malolactic fermentation. Following MLF, and several times thereafter, the individual wines are racked and returned. At the end of this program, the most outstanding vineyard parcels are barrel selected, blended and minimally filtered prior to going into bottle.