2021 Estate Shiraz Viognier

colour

Deep ruby-red with purple hues.

aroma

Lifted notes of blueberry and blackberry with rich, warming spices.

palate

Rich, full and smooth on the palate with vibrant plum and blackberry fruit and supporting toasty, cedar notes from extended oak aging. Long, smooth and beautifully structured on the finish.

cellaring

Although drinking beautifully on release, this wine will continue to develop for up to a decade from vintage.

vintage

The vines on the estate were planted in 1996 on a shallow, lateritic gravel ridge, with a south-west aspect.

The 2021 vintage was moderate, mild and a wonderful year. These great conditions resulted in beautifully ripe, varietally pure wines that are brimming with perfect, delicate, natural acidity.

winemaking

Shiraz and Viognier from the estate were hand-picked on the same day. 75% of the fruit was destemmed and moved to open-topped fermenters , with whole bunches immersed within the must, to undergo carbonic maceration. Fermentation occurred over a period of nine days and during this time, the wine was gently pumped over to maintain whole bunches, twice-daily. Temperatures were strictly managed and did not surpass a maximum temperature of 28 degrees. The wine was then gently pressed in the tank before being racked to French barriques and puncheons, 30% of which were new. It was then matured for 18 months before being blended and bottled in November 2022.

region

Perth Hills (Millbrook Estate) 

varieties

• Shiraz (97%)
• Viognier (3%)

analysis

• Alcohol: 14.0%

Western Australian fillet steak with a rich onion gravy.

Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion 2025

Beefy fruit flavour with a silken, seductive edge. Flavours of fresh and scorched plums, black cherries, fennel and cloves glide through into mint, purple flowers and bacon. It has savouriness, it has (bold) fruitiness, and it has an all-over toasty character. It's a dry red wine with crowd-pleaser written all over it.

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Ray Jordan Wine Guide 2024

The distinctive spicy influence of Viognier is clearly evident on the Shiraz. It's from the Millbrook property from vines that are now pretty old, so you get plenty of ripe and intense fruit flavours with the spicy aromatics of the Viognier adding lift to the violet plummy notes of the Shiraz. Chalky tannins and lightly infused oak add their final pieces to complete the picture.

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