Scarlet Runner Shiraz 2016
Tasting Notes
This is a lovely bright fresh vivacious McLaren vale Shiraz, with some lovely chocolate and red and dark berry characters. There are smooth tannins, good length and a trademark Bosworth ‘juicy’ character which springs out at you. It’s a ripper wine from a very good vintage. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, try the Scarlet Runner with a Tuscan pepper stew or Peposo. Buy enough Scarlet Runner and use it to make the stew, too.
Vintage
We had a very dry spring leading up to vintage 2016 and it was windy, too. We expect windy conditions in Willunga, but this was pretty intense. October and December were both pretty warm, whereas November was mild. Very healthy crops were recorded across all varieties in McLaren Vale. We had a huge downpour at the end of January a few days before the whites were due to be picked; this kind of weather event tends to give Joch a sense of tightening around the left chest area, neck and sometimes down the arm. However, this 50mm downpour succeeded in refreshing the vines, giving us a few more days before picking and bringing the lawns back from the brink. February was mild with cool nights and March provided pretty good picking conditions, give or take a few warm days.
Winemaking
Grow some lovely organic Shiraz grapes in God’s own country (McLaren Vale), pick the grapes when they are flavour and sugar ripe, crush and de-stem them then ferment them in open vessels. Once through fermentation, mature some in oak, some in stainless steel, and bottle the result, and voila a delicious, fresh, lightly oaked Shiraz. That’s not too hard an ask, is it? Not for our Jochie and the winery crew it’s not.
Other Vintages
Technical Details
Picking Date: Picked between 16th Feb to the 15th March 2016
Alc/Vol: 14.5%
Bottling Date: 13th December 2016