Best in Show:

Announcement posted by Michael Hall Wines 28 Nov 2016

Michael Hall’s new Shiraz given the trophy at the Adelaide Hills Wine Show

Media release

Monday 28 November 2016

Tanunda, South Australia (for immediate release)

The annual Adelaide Hills Wine Show hosted its awards ceremony at Mount Lofty House on Friday and the panel of judges, chaired by Nick Stock, awarded Best Wine in Show to Michael Hall Wines Adelaide Hills Syrah 2015. This is the most recent release in Michael Hall’s triptych of shirazes, each with a very distinct personality.

In a region better known for its whites, this is the second time in consecutive years that the Best Wine in Show has gone to a Shiraz, speaking to the depth and diversity of this elevated GI that links McLaren Vale in the south to the Barossa in the north. It also acknowledges the changing cultural climate towards Shiraz that displays a nuanced palate of spice, flowers and red berries and away from the rich and heady dark-fruited concentration of more traditional South Australian styles.

The Adelaide Hills wine is a first release and joins Michael’s duo of single vineyard Shiraz from Eden Valley and Barossa Valley. Michael explained, “I grew up in the UK and my first experiences of wine were the French classics that my dad put on the table for Sunday lunch. The northern Rhone Valley reds commonly displayed loads of nasal pepper, alongside herbal aromatics and drying tannin. Later, the imports from Australia provided a vivid contrast with their rich black, Christmas pudding generosity. As an amateur consumer, I loved the two contrasting styles and that I could shut my eyes and identify which came from France and which from Australia!

“More recently, living in the Barossa Valley, I realised that much of this stylistic diversity could be achieved across the vineyards of the Mount Lofty Ranges. Working with Kym Teusner in 2006, he introduced me to Leon and Christa Deans’ Flaxman’s Valley vineyard high in Eden Valley and a wine showing pepper and lavender that transported me to St Joseph and Hermitage. I am ever grateful to Kym for introducing me the first pillar of my Shiraz trio. This wine, often brimming with violets and lavender alongside baker’s spice, achieved the top score of 98/100 in James Suckling and Nick Stock’s 2014 tasting of Barossa Shiraz.

“I called the Eden Valley wine ‘Syrah’ and wanted to make a contrasting Barossa Valley Shiraz. While never a fan of the heroic, high-octane styles of Barossa Shiraz that our warm climate can produce, I had not forgotten the delicious, voluptuous black fruit and liquorice characters of my first impressions. So, I sought out John Shobbrook, growing Shiraz on the edge of Stone Well and Seppeltsfield, conscious of sustainability and knowing that he had recently converted to biodynamic management. I’d worked vintages with Vanya Cullen and Anne-Claude Leflaive and felt that their biodynamic approach leant itself to earlier picking and more vibrant fruit. This Shiraz from the Triangle Block in Stone Well became my second pillar and typically shows a palate of fresh blackberry, plum, peach and chalky liquorice.” This year, the 2014 Michael Hall Shiraz, Stone Well won the Shiraz trophy at Marananga and a gold medal at the Barossa Wine Show.

Michael Hall’s Adelaide Hills Shiraz owes its conception to Tom Munro, who had been making a fantastic Shiraz under his Boovability label called ‘Lady at Dawn’. It came from a tiny Mount Torrens vineyard managed by Tom’s friend Mark Whisson. Tom recently relocated to Sydney to develop his import business The Other Bordeaux and felt he couldn’t give this vineyard the time it deserved. In 2013, Michael enthusiastically followed up on Tom’s introduction and worked with Mark to produce a first harvest was in 2014. But with just two acres and a topsoil that is little more than a dusting over the bedrock, the crop is vanishingly small. No single vineyard wine was produced in 2014 and just 90 cases in 2015. Despite the intensive efforts for such small returns the wine is a gem, delivering a tapestry of sweet red fruit, cinnamon and dried herbs. Best Wine in Show is a terrific endorsement of the quality of this vineyard and of Mark’s viticultural work, and the wine adds a third dimension to Michael’s showcase of South Australian Shiraz terroir.

Michael Hall ‘Mount Torrens’ Syrah, Adelaide Hills 2015 (14% Alc./Vol., 1170 bottles, RRP $50, Trade release, January 2017)

Michael Hall ‘Triangle Block’ Barossa Valley Shiraz 2014, Stone Well (14.4% Alc./Vol., 3770 bottles, RRP $47)

Michael Hall ‘Flaxman’s Valley’ Syrah, Eden Valley 2014 (13.9% Alc./Vol., 1920 bottles, RRP $50)

For detailed winemaker’s notes, bottle shots and tasting samples of any of these three wines, please contact Kimberley Pearce at Wine Brain, kp@winebrain.com.au, 0413 120 385.

Michael Hall looks forward to sharing his latest shirazes with the wine interested public. The wines are available online (http://www.michaelhallwines.com/pages/buy-wine.php), (Michael Hall Adelaide Hills Syrah 2015 will go on trade release in January 2017) and at a collection discerning of restaurants and retailers.

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

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