Wines

Bress wines are produced from grapes that have been grown using biodynamic farming practices.  This fruit is then handcrafted to reflect the varietal characters and the sense of place that each parcel of fruit expresses.

2009 Gold Chook Heathcote Shiraz

The Name
Whilst living and winemaking in the Yarra Valley, I discovered the joys of breeding and showing chickens. This passion led me to visit France in 1996 to witness first hand their traditional methods of breeding chickens and I dedicate our wines to the famous chickens of France and what they represent – artisan production using traditional, age old methods.

The Vineyard
The fruit for this Heathcote Shiraz was selected from two vineyards situated at either ends of the Heathcote appellation.  The vines are trellised using the Vertical Shoot Positioning system.   The viticulturist uses traditional viticultural techniques of organics and crop thinning to produce crops of less than 1.5 tonnes to the acre.

Winemaking
My winemaking belief is that good fruit should be treated gently and with minimal intervention. The Bress 2009 Heathcote Shiraz was treated in this manner.  A combination of whole bunch and gently crushed fruit fermentations occurred in open fermenters.   Fermentation was slow and was initiated by indigenous yeast strains. Hand plunging occurred three times a day.  Post pressing the wine was transferred to French oak hogsheads for malolactic fermentation.  Following malolactic fermentation the wine was barrel to barrel racked using gravity and left in oak for 15 months. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration and may deposit a harmless sediment.

This Bress Heathcote Shiraz was bottled using a Screw Cap closure.  Using a Screw Cap closure is our attempt to ensure that our wine is presented free of cork characters (good or bad) and that the full aroma and flavour of this wine is expressed.

Tasting Notes

Colour: An intense and vibrant pungent crimson, almost ink blue.

Aroma: The wine offers a complex array of fruit aromas of black fruit, spice, cloves and plum.  The oak aromas are of char and vanillian spice.

Palate: The wine is tightly packed full of black fruit, spice, cloves, and plum.  The oak characters are beautifully integrated into the wine, giving the wine structure and adding power, balance and a savoury richness.

This wine should be decanted prior to serving.
Whilst enjoyable now, this wine will reward careful cellaring for 10 years.

Please enjoy this traditionally made hand crafted wine.