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Yarra Valley Estate Grown Syrah 2010

Region
Yarra Valley

Appearance
Bright red with purple rim.

Bouquet
Fragrant and aromatic with strong graphite and white pepper characteristics.

Palate
Rich spicy fruit with dark berries. Integrated ripe tannins, structured palate, exotic feel, supple and complex.

Vintage Conditions
In 2010 we experienced a cool growing season with timely rainfall. Fruit was mature and expressive at balanced alcohol and acidity levels. Picking dates ranged from the 9th to the 19th March.

Winemaking
Fruit is sourced from from 4 estate vineyards planted in 1971, 1987, 1990 and 1994. Vines are cane pruned to 18 buds per vine and shoot thinned at the 10-15cm stage so that there are no more than15 bunches per vine. The vines are hand picked into 8kg buckets and transported to the winery. Fruit is hand sorted and a combination of whole bunches and whole berries are tipped to open fermenters. The fruit is then allowed to ferment with ambient yeast. Both hand and foot plunging are used to gently extract colour and flavour over 20 days. The grapes are pressed and settled for 24 hours before racking to a range of oak vessels (2600L and 500L) for MLF and maturation. After 10 months the wine is gravity racked and then bottled.

Wine Analysis
Alc/Vol: 13.0 % pH: 3.68 TA: 6.2g/L

Cellaring
Now or over the next 8-10 years in a good cellar.

Suggested Cuisine
Slow cooked rabbit. Duck isn’t bad either!

General Characteristics
Dry Medium Bodied

93 Points
"A fine shiraz made in modern Yarra style, with lots of stems in the ferment, giving a peppery, vegetal aroma. This will be more complex and perfumed in a couple of years. Intense and flavoursome with lots of nuances and soft tannins."

Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald, May 2012

93 Points
"De Bortoli seem to really be upping the ante with Syrah - this again showing the flex of the region with its medium bodied, gently savoury flavours and the lick of stemmy complexity rounding out the wine. Great gear."

Mike Bennie, Wine 100, April 2012

"A supple wine, bright red in colour with purple rim. Fragrant and aromatic bouquet, with strong graphite and white pepper characteristics. The structured palate displays rich spicy fruit with dark berries and integrated ripe tannins.

Nick Stock, Gourmet Traveller Wine, March 2012

92 Points
"Stemmy, sappy smelling and with souk-type spiciness. Boysenberry fruit and woodsy smells getting more apparent with air: this is a complex mix. Has excellent depth in the mouth and a lip-smacking zesty and creaminess mid-palate. The fruit builds and the tannins build the longer this sits in the glass. Needs another year or two to show its best."

Tim White, afr.com, March 2012

UK
"A deep colour with lifted, spicy, subtly green whole bunch notes on an enticingly perfumed nose and palate. Ready to rock and roll its soft, well integrated acidity makes for a really juicy, drinkable wine with silky tannins and ultra fluid white pepper edged blood plum, black cherry and berry. It’s a Bistro wine, says Webber, for people who love drinking wine with food. Delicious now and for mid-term drinking."

Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective, March 2012

Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Dectective, March 2012

5 Stars
"There’s a unique cut and thrust to this wine, setting it apart from any other Australian shiraz. The cool growing climate (four east facing blocks of De Bortoli’s Yarra vineyard) drives the style. But harvesting time, gentle fruit handling, winemaking and maturation techniques all contribute to the layers
of flavour and texture. The intense flavour combines vibrant, fresh berries, cool-climate white pepper and a note of stalkiness, probably a result of including whole bunches in the ferment. The structure is lean and tight, even sinewy, but with a lovely suppleness."

Chris Shanahan, Canberra Times, February 2012

94 Points
"De Bortoli Syrah is stalky and spicy and challenging to those raised on sweet, jammy luscious reds. The last one I tried - the 2008 - pushed things a little too far for my humble tastes but I like this 2010 rather alot. Not that it's an easygoing wine. It's anything but. It's smoky, stalky, ashen, full of chicory and graphite-like flavours and grainy and bitter on the finish. You'll either love or loathe it. I love it for its perfume, its intensity, its complexity and most of all, for its ability to captivate. Ripe fruit, texture and bustling spice. Wine as a happening thing."