PIRATHON 2005 SHIRAZ (download PDF)

The grapes were harvested from the low-yielding vineyards of traditional family growers in the north-western Barossa districts of Greenock, Moppa, Belvedere, Stonewell, Seppeltsfield, Koonunga and Ebenezer. The 2005 growing season was one of the Barossa’s best with good Spring rains giving the vines a solid start and a dry, mild Autumn providing an excellent finish for ripening.

The wine was entirely vintaged at the Kalleske winery at Greenock by Tony & Troy Kalleske. Following harvest, each individual lot of grapes was crushed into a separate open top fermenter. During fermentation, hand pump-overs gently extracted colour and flavour from the grapes. The fermented grapes were pressed with a traditional basket press. The wines were then filled to new and seasoned American, French, Russian and Hungarian hogsheads for maturation. After two years in the barrel cellar, each lot of wine was racked from the barrel before careful blending. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration, ensuring the true expression of the vineyards in the bottle.

Pirathon Shiraz 2005 is rich purple-black in colour. The bouquet immediately evokes a serious wine with uplifting and concentrated aromas of black plum, dark chocolate, fruit cake, briar, cedar, subtle licorice and a touch of spice. The palate is very generous and promptly fills all corners of the mouth with richness and flavours of dark fruit. The full-bodied palate is balanced with a layered and robust structure with integrated chalky tannins and classy oak barrel maturation characters. A very lengthy finish completes a complex and opulent wine. Pirathon is a paramount expression of north-western Barossa Shiraz that will reward time in the cellar.