2020 Laughing Jack Greenock Shiraz

The Kalleskes’ Augustus vineyard was planted in 1999 on land that had been in the family for nearly 150 years but had been used for crops and grazing sheep until then. Shawn Kalleske was convinced Greenock's ironstone soils would be perfect for Shiraz, and his instinct was right on the money. The site sits at 350 metres on red/brown soils over friable red clay with a high proportion of rocks. Only the best fruit from the vineyard is reserved for this bottling. The fruit was picked by hand over two days at the beginning of March, destemmed and crushed to small open-top fermenters. After 20 days on skins with regular, twice-a-day plunging, the wine matured in barrels (48% new French, 28% seasoned French, 16% new American and 8% seasoned American) for 20 months. It’s another class act from Shawn Kalleske, perfumed and dark-fruited with plush weight, dense concentration and a lingering, spice-tinged close. Built for the cellar but approachable now with a decant and a great steak.