Hare’s Chase Ironscraper Shiraz 2018

Be honest. How many of you would ever come up with the name, ‘Ironscraper’, for a wine? Certainly not me. Apparently, it has to do with the scrapes made by the hares for them to hide. Not how I remember ‘Watership Down’ at all. 

No matter. They tell me that this is their entry level wine. I struggle with that for a couple of reasons. First, because I actually thought it was even better than some of their other wines, supposedly above ‘entry level’, though they were pretty good as well. Secondly, I suspect that there would be plenty of wineries very happy to have this as something other than their ‘entry level’ wine. Put simply, it is too good. 

From the Marananga sub-region, there is 5% cabernet combined with the shiraz here. Each parcel of grapes harvested was fermented separately. Twice daily pumpovers and then basket-pressed into a mix of new and seasoned American oak, 300-litre hogsheads from AP John coopers, for an extended 12-month maturation – both free-run and pressings are used. 

Dark purple/near blue colour. Black fruits arise from the glass, with some warm earth notes and dry herbs. Lovely ripeness here. This does come from the slightly more rustic end of the spectrum than some, but many of us love that. Florals, blackberries and fungal notes emerge. The palate is actually brighter and fresher, seemingly so, than the nose. Good grip and a mineral undertow. Decent length. This is a really pleasing style and makes a mockery of the concept of ‘entry level’.