Sevenhill Vaulted Cellar Shiraz 2020

The name comes from the old cellar, the vaulted cellar, which was excavated by hand in the late 1850s. It is beneath the winery and the place where the journey began for Sevenhill. The fruit hails from a block behind the winery planted in 1973, itself named in honour of Brother Francis Lenz, the winemaker here between 1883 and 1888; the vines remain unirrigated. The grapes are crushed into open slate fermenters for a cool ferment, and-plunged twice daily. Basket pressing ten days after fermentation, the wine then spends 20 months in new French oak hogsheads, 40% new. Near opaque purple in colour, the nose weaves through an alluring array of blackfruits and blueberries with notes of coffee beans, warm earth and a little chocolate. Supple in texture, it has a seamless structure and an appealing richness throughout. This is a full-flavoured style with bright acidity, fine tannins and very good length. Drink over the next six to eight years.