Additional information
| Weight | 1.467 kg |
|---|
Clarendon Hills Sandown Syrah 2024
$90.00 / bottle
Hailing from the prestigious Sandown property located in Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale where the sister wine, Sandown Cabernet Sauvignon originates. The old Sandown Syrah patch was planted in the mid 1930’s and yields a microscopic few bunches per vine or around 300 dozen every year. The western facing patch and features significant ironstone and quartz sub-terrainial content. The wine is intensely perfumed and very individual. Earth, sandalwood and signature incense like spices throughout the fruit and makes for a highly exotic expression of Blewitt Springs Syrah. Cola, sarsaparilla, incense, blackcurrant, blueberry, black olive, fine Italian leather and roasted meat are all on display with recessed power woven throughout this highly perfumed and multi-layered, seamless example. Seamless in its majesty and highlights a weightless power. Magic.
Specifications
RegionRegion
Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale. A sprawling hillside region 10 kms North East of McLaren Vale town centre famous for its added comparative elevation and abundant hillside aspects whose rich ironstone and deep sand deposits forge individual and highly fragrant wines. Sandown Syrah is a single vineyard wine from a patch of old gnarly old vines that are dry grown and low yielding. This old patch was planted in the 1930’s and the site has a Western aspect. It's located at the South Western edge of Blewitt Springs at roughly 2010-230 metres above sea level. The site terroir represents Blewitt Springs famous deep sands, although this site recesses in to an old creek bed and darker loams integrate with the sand and there's fleck of pebbled ironstone, quartz and shale throughout the subterrainial layers.
Conditions
Wet and humid growing conditions in 2023 persisted throughout the year and continued in to the Spring time and Summer that preceded the 2024 harvest. The warm and wet conditions encouraged the Old Vine Grenache vineyards to shoot many buds and all Grenache sites were 25% heavier than usual. Slightly heavy crops were relatively behind ripening schedule in Summer but the clearing of the wet conditions in 2024 mid January lead to fantastic ripening period across late January to March. Large healthy bush vine canopies pulled the fruit in to line and their voluminous sizes protected the large berry bunches from the hot Summer heat. Hand harvesting occurred in mid March after a prolonged ripening period from veraison. The arriving fruit was exquisite with deep flavours and bountiful volumes. A rare combination of great yield and also exceptional quality. The 2024 growing season suited Grenache and the quality is evident in the collection of delicious 2024 wines.
Winemaking
Low yielding, dry grown vines from the Blewitt Springs region in McLaren Vale were hand-picked and followed by a 60% whole berry, wild yeast fermentation. All pressings were returned to barrel and eventually bottled onsite without fining or filtration after 18 months in French Oak.
Maturation
18 months, within a hierarchy of 1-5 year old tightly grained French Oak. Bottled at the winery with no fining or filtration.
Grape Variety
100% Old Vine Syrah, vines planted in 1930
Closure
DIAM
Production
2400 bottles
Winemaker
Roman Bratasiuk
A cool year, and maybe anomalous for some, but I love the best wines from '23. And this is in that cohort. Also, this is the best syrah release that I can recall from this address. It may not satisfy those after highly charged offerings, but the quality and character are undeniable. Here, there’s a silkiness to the palate, a glide of fruit, texture and keenly extracted tannins, all knit in, quietly composed. The fruit profile is red but, happily, nothing pokes out, with the interest lying in the array of floral and spice notes. Bergamot tea, sandalwood, dried rose, sweet pipe tobacco, dukkah … it’s no more than medium in weight, but it’s so intensely flavoured. Beautiful wine.
96/100
Sandown Syrah 2023
- Wine Companion, Marcus Ellis
The 2023 Sandown Syrah is earthy and mineral and spicy, perhaps my favorite of the single-vineyard Syrahs tasted here today. While this has all the floral tones and black fruit of the Onkaparinga and the Liandra, this shows a decidedly more red/brown spectrum of spice: sumac, hung deli meat, crushed rocks... It's bloody, earthy and savory, excellent. Super. 13.1% alcohol, sealed under Diam.
96/100
Sandown Syrah 2023
- Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin
