2019 Old Block Shiraz

Centare Vineyard is located in the heart of the Yarra Valley, Australia’s most prestigious, cool-climate wine region, renowned for producing some of the most exceptional, varietal wines in the world.

The ‘Old Block’ range of wines are single vineyard wines, made entirely from original estate vineyards that were planted to the region’s most classic varieties in 1998.

Yarra Valley Shiraz is one of the region’s best kept secrets, with the best, generally warmer sites, producing award winning wines with great depth and intensity of cool-climate character and flavour.

Awards & Reviews: 

GOLD Medal - 2020 Yarra Valley Wine Show

SILVER Medal - 2022 Decanter Wine Awards

92 Points: Halliday Wine Companion - Vines planted in 1998, open-fermented with around 15% whole bunches, matured in (30% new French, 10% new American) barriques. Plenty of cool-climate pepper and spice on offer (despite the warm season) with some vanillan oak character as well. The red berry fruit seems to not have fully emerged yet, and I think it needs a year or 2 to show its true colours.

91 Points: Jeremy Oliver - A spicy, floral fragrance of raspberries, red cherries and sweet cedary oak precedes a supple, fine-grained and gentle palate whose vivacious purity extends with suppleness and brightness over a fine, faintly mineral spine towards a lingering licorice-like finish. There’s just a hint of edginess about the acids and while there’s plenty of charming fruit, it’s quite heavily coated in oak.      

91 Points:JamesSuckling.com - Fragrant violet and high-grade spicy oak drizzle on the blueberries and fleshy dark cherries. Some tangy black pepper comes through as it evolves. Medium body with round, sleek tannins. Lots of tart blue fruit on the palate. Very silky, elegant and complete. Fine-oak finish that will integrate. Needs time. Better in 2022.

Tasting Notes:

This is an intensely highly perfumed, complex and flavoursome expression of cool-climate Yarra Valley Shiraz. Quite tightly wound when young, the wine will benefit tremendously from decanting prior to serving, but more significantly, from a minimum of five years of bottle age. Red berries, white pepper & spice, cedar, vanilla and coffee bean undertones, and with fine, structural tannins and enduring acidity and flavour. 

Winemaking:

No expense has been spared to ensure the most pristine fruit expression – this is serious Shiraz. The fruit was hand-picked, then meticulously sorted to select only the best berries for fermentation in three, small, open fermenters - each with approximately 15% whole bunches. The fermenters were gently plunged twice daily during fermentation, and left ‘on skins’ for a total of 20 days during maceration. The wine was then matured in premium oak barriques, for almost 12 months before bottling in May 2020.

Technical Data: 

Residual Sugar: 0.33g/L (dry)

Acidity: pH 3.25, Titratable Acidity 6.6g/L 

Total Cases produced: 1183 x 6 packs (750ml)

Harvest Date: 15th March 2019

Variety: 100% Shiraz

Oak: 100% Barriques – 30% new French, 10% new American

Alcohol: 13.9%