New Release

Announcement posted by Wine Brain 04 Dec 2015

Michael Hall Flaxman’s Valley Syrah 2013

Media release

Wednesday, 2 December 2015, Tanunda, South Australia (for immediate release)

Following the sold out 2012 vintage, Michael Hall Wines is pleased to release the new 2013 Flaxman’s Valley, Eden Valley Syrah – a wine that has attracted strong endorsements.

Since the first vintage of his eponymous label in 2007, Michael Hall has been steadily crafting a catalogue of wines that express his passion for elegant, individual, thoughtfully-made wines. The cool, elevated Naimanya vineyard in the warmth of the 2013 vintage combined to produce a tightly wound wine with considerable concentration – Michael Hall Flaxman’s Valley, Eden Valley Syrah 2013 (RRP $48 per bottle).

Months before release, this wine has collected two impressive accolades: Ranked #10 in Nick Stock’s 50 Best Australian Wines of 2014 and equal highest rated red wine by James Suckling at 98 points in his review of The Barossa. The Flaxman’s Valley Syrah has been quietly maturing since those new year reviews and will be ready for official release to the public on 1^st December 2015. Hall described this singular wine in detail:

The vineyard

“Michael Hall Flaxman’s Valley Syrah, Eden Valley comes from the Naimanya Vineyard, planted in 1990, which lies on the western lee of Flaxman’s Valley. This impeccable fruit is grown by Leon and Christa Deans and I’ll always be grateful to Kym Teusner for introducing me to this hidden and remarkable place,” Hall explained.

“At 525 metres above sea level, it’s one of the highest Shiraz vineyards in the Eden Valley and wider Barossa region. The soil profile of sandy loam, gravel and quartz over clay generates spice and floral aromatics, alongside the blueberry fruit signature of the higher Eden Valley.”

The vintage

“2013 was an early vintage with the warm, dry spring of 2012 continuing into summer. I am fortunate to work with this secluded, high altitude site, which responded to the conditions by bearing small yields of wonderfully complex fruit. The grapes were picked and destemmed on 22 March then wild yeast fermented, a portion with long maceration in barrel. The wine spent 19 months in French oak (30% new) and was then bottled with no fining or filtration.”

“The wine shows the dried flower and herbal notes you might expect from an elevated site but adds to this an undercurrent of blue fruit and liquorice that belongs to the sun. It’s quite highly extracted, needs a little time to unfold, then speaks long and eloquently about this unique site” Hall explains.

The reviews

“In late 2014, I responded to a call out for samples for JamesSuckling.com, from Nick Stock, wine writer and outgoing Chair of Judges at the Barossa Wine Show, and James Suckling former editor of Wine Spectator and now eponymous reviewer. From more than 500 wines were submitted and 400 reviewed, I was thrilled that my Michael Hall Flaxman’s Valley Syrah, Eden Valley 2013 was rated first equal amongst the dry reds at 98/100,” Hall enthused.

In February, Nick Stock followed up by publishing his 50 Best Australian Wines of 2014 on JamesSuckling.com. Michael Hall Flaxman’s Valley Syrah, Eden Valley 2013 was ranked at number ten alongside some of the great names of Australian wine, including Penfolds Grange, Wendouree, Clonakilla, By Farr, Leeuwin Estate, to name a few. “It was a real honour to have my wine praised amongst such established and worthy names, and great to see strong endorsements for other emerging new generation innovators such as Ruggabellus and Sami-Odi,” Hall added.

Michael Hall looks forward to sharing this limited 338 case production with the wine interested public. The wine is available online (http://www.michaelhallwines.com/pages/buy-wine.php) and at a collection discerning of restaurants and retailers.

Michael Hall Wines retail stockists include: Annandale Cellars, Bests Cellars, Blackhearts & Sparrows, City Wine Shop, Cloud Wine, Craft Wine, Cru Bar, East End Cellars, Edinburgh Cellars, Harry and Frankie, Malt Cellars, Northbridge Cellars, Oak Barrel, Prince Wine Store, Rathdowne Cellars, Spiro’s, Vintage Blue, Wine Emporium and Wine Experience.

For more information or images, please contact Kimberley Pearce at Wine Brain, kp@winebrain.com.au, 0413 120 385.

Ends---

About Michael Hall

Originally from the UK, I released my first vintage of Michael Hall Wines in 2008, bringing my wine dream to fruition after two decades of jewellery valuation in Switzerland. From Europe to the Barossa, I took this leap into the unknown, completed wine science at CSU and worked stints in Australia with Cullen, Giaconda, Henschke, Shaw + Smith, Coldstream Hills and Veritas; in France with Domaine Leflaive, Meo-Camuzet, Vieux Telegraphe and Trevallon.

I have identified eight extraordinary vineyard sites across the Barossa Valley, Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills and have since pursued my passion for making thoughtfully produced wines, which provoke thought; individual, small batch, elegant wines made with passive interventions and meticulous attention to detail. For wine nerds, like me.