The Wines
Each of these wines began with a vineyard that revealed some exceptional character; not easily definable but something intriguing and, I felt, worth trying to capture.

After this, the style of each wine comes into focus with the many decisions made through tasting the fruit, pressing, fermentation, maturation… trying to intuit where the ideal point of balance lies for that particular season.

Up! Shiraz
Sourced from three great shiraz sites in the “spice belt” south of Mt Barker, the 2018 release shows exceptional aromatic intensity, elegance and balance.
Hand harvested, then destemmed without crushing. Fermentation was carried out in small open top fermenters, mostly with hand plunging of the cap, but also délestage by gravity. After pressing off skins, the wine matured for 12 months in new and seasoned French hogsheads (second and third use). No fining or stabilisation.
About the name: Up is a suffix commonly found in place names in Western Australia’s south-west, meaning “place of” in the indigenous Noongar dialect. This wine evokes the ancient granitic soils of its place of origin in the hills around Mount Barker.
Current release 2018.
Reviews
La Violetta 2008 Up! Shiraz (Mount Barker)