NV Silver Chook Sparkling Shiraz
Bress NV Heathcote & Bendigo Sparkling 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 & Bendigo Shiraz was selected from a vineyard situated in the heart of the Heathcote appellation and from Marong, a region south of the township of Bendigo. Along with fruit from our own vineyard situated at Harcourt. All vineyards are trellised using the Vertical Shoot Positioning system and both viticulturists under my supervision use traditional viticultural techniques of organics and crop thinning to produce crops of less than 2.5 tonnes to the acre.
Winemaking
My winemaking belief is that good fruit should be treated gently and with minimal intervention. The Bress Non Vintage Heathcote & Bendigo 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 old French oak hogsheads for malolactic fermentation. Following malolactic fermentation the wine was filtered and bottled under pressure.
This Bress Heathcote & Bendigo Shiraz was bottled using a crown seal closure.
Using a crown seal 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 inky blue.
Aroma: The wine offers a complex array of fruit aromas of black fruit, spice, cloves and plum.
Palate: The wine is tightly packed full of black fruit, spice, cloves, and plum. There is a creaminess that is conferred by the carbonation and gives the wine power, balance and a savoury richness.
Whilst enjoyable now, this wine will reward careful cellaring for up to 3 years.
Please enjoy this traditionally made hand crafted wine.
