Alexander Munro is winemaker Rhys Eather's great-great-grandfather and these true reserve wines are released only in years that reflect the status of the label. There was no 2000 vintage of this wine released as the vineyard was hit by a freak hailstorm which led to the downgrading of the fruit.
Fruit Source:
Situated in Pokolbin, the "Ivanhoe" vineyard is the Shiraz source for the wine. The vines have an aveage age of 40 years and dry land grown, thus ensuring low yields and high quality.
Fermentation & Maturation:
Hand picked fruit was crushed into open vats and plunged twice daily to ensure maximum extraction. The wine was pressed out and transferred into French oak of which 30% was new. 20 months later the wine was lightly egg white fined and bottled with minimal filtration.
Winemakers Comments:
The old Ivanhoe vines cropped only marginally higher than the previous vintage due to the lingering effects of the drought. This meant we had fruit to work with that was ripe, clean and above all balanced.
The 2004 is a medium to full bodied wine with lovely savoury blackberry fruit. The regional earth character is present but in the background along with subtle toasty spicy oak. A great result for the 2004 vintage.
Cellaring:
This wine has all the hallmarks that are required for medium to long term cellaring.
"This wine is the most impressive 2004 Hunter Shiraz tasted this year. Typical Hunter softness of fruit but with an extra dimension od subtle power. Plums, spice, liquorice, smoke and earth are all components of this complex wine that is yet to break out of infancy. A long decant is needed for drinking right now, otherwise sit back, put your feet up and look forward to taking a look at this lovely wine in around four years time". Rated 95 points. Grant Dodd - The Wining Pro - October 2006