Jeremy Oliver 95 Points!
"The Vicar is Chapel Hill's flagship wines. The grapes are selected from Chapel Hill's most outstanding parcels of McLaren Vale Shiraz and this iwine embodies our vision of the region, variety and winemaking excellence. Where the previous releases have been blends of different varieties the sixth release of The Vicar heralds a lasting commitment to the splendours of McLaren Vale Shiraz.
After a moderately wet spring the vines displayed excellent health and balance which was ideal for the run into the 2006 intage. This was followed by a cool, dry summer which ensured the optimum development of flavour. Ironically it appeared that it was going to be a late vintage until a spell of warmer weather in late February guaranteed the smooth ripening of all varieties, resulting in wines of excellent character, depth and mouth feel.
The grapes were sourced from vines aged between twenty two and sixty six years. The various vineyard parcels were harvested and fermented separately in small fermenters to ensure that each parcel articulated the unique character of each vineyard site. All ferments were left on skins for a minimum of 8 days. During the subsequent twenty on month oak maturation period each individual batch of barrels were racked and returned periodically, to scamlessly integrate the tannis into the wine and to ensure that minimal filtration and no fining was required prior to bottling.
The 2006 The Vicar Shriaz diplays layers of opulent blackberry, spice, mocha and liquorice flavours which are seamlessly interlinked bny a sublime savoury texture. The synergistic balance of varietal flavour, palate weight, tannin and acidity will ensure that the wine will develop further complexity over the next 15 to 20 years."
Chapel Hill Wines
Country:
Australia
Region:
SA- McLaren Vale
Variety:
Wine Red - Shiraz
Size:
750mL
