Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz Grenache 750ml

The 2020 Glaetzer Wallace is a blend of 78% Shiraz / 22% Grenache. Exceptional old vine fruit was sourced from the famed Ebenezer sub-district at the northern tip of the Barossa Valley. The Shiraz is from Shiraz 50- to 80-year-old vines and the Grenache from 50— to 100-year-old vines. Yields are 3.5 tonnes per hectare.

Old-vine Barossa Grenache has a liveliness and structure that does not benefit from oak maturation, therefore oak contact was minimised for the Grenache component to preserve the purity and animation of the fruit. The Shiraz was matured for 16 months in 2- to 3-year-old oak hogshead barrels (80% French/20% American).

The 2020 vintage is a combination of excellent quality and limited quantity. Yields were down across the Barossa Valley by 50% on average, with some Shiraz even further reduced. The cause was a combination of early frost reducing buds, windy flowering conditions resulting in minimal fruit set and a final pairing of hot November days and a generally dry growing season. Any of these events would reduce volume; in unison they were dramatic in their impact. The good news is that the grapes we did harvest was as good as we could have hoped for and the resulting wines stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best we have bottled to date.

The nose shows a lifted combination of red fruits with fresh spice notes of pepper and cedar. On the palate the bright fruits of damson and red cherry are complemented by a hint of classic Grenache white pepper. These notes are joined by deeper and darker Shiraz fruit to offer a wine at once refreshing and intense.