"Dalwhinnie Shiraz is a seductive, balanced wine with intense blackberry spice fruit, fine tannins and earthy/meaty regional nuances. The gentle sloping amphitheatre-like Dalwhinnie vineyard – first planted in 1976 – lies quartz and decomposed slatey soils over friable clays; the initial design and layout provided by David Hohnen of Cape Mentelle fame. This is a particularly well drained low-yielding vineyard. At harvest the vineyard is triaged at varying ripeness levels to achieve a broader flavour spectrum. The winemaking philosophy is in evolution, extended maceration and open fermenters are used to improve flavour complexity. After pressing off in a traditional basket press the wine is matured for up to 16 months in a combination of new and used American and French oak."Andrew Caillard MW