Six Brothers Great Western Shiraz 2021

Six Brothers is a label of Vandenberg Wines, run by Richie and Jasmin Vandenberg who are based in the small South Australian wine region of Padthaway and named in honour of the six Vandenberg brothers who fought in WWII. Richie, a former captain of the Hawthorn football club, and Jasmin, previously a corporate fitness consultant, teamed up with “serial entrepreneur” Justin Moran in 2013 to create the brand. Having completed nine vintages worldwide in five years after finishing her studies, winemaker Leisha Munro seemed like a great choice to work on the portfolio.

‘A blend of 90% Great Western and 10% Wrattonbully, both premium Shiraz growing regions. The fruit was crushed before adding yeast to start the fermentation process. Wine was fermented on its skins for 10 days with regular assessment and pump-overs to enhance the colour and tannin extraction whist retaining the fruit expression. Post-fermentation the wine was pressed into tank and oak barrels for MLF and aging prior to bottling.‘

The Great Western area is responsible for some pretty powerful yet still elegant Shiraz, and the Six Brothers is no exception. It possesses a complex and heady aroma of fruits (blackberry, raspberry, mulberry) and savoury characters (tomato leaf, clove, earth, gaminess, vanilla), with a silkiness in the mouth complemented by dusty tannins. With food, it becomes bright and salty, shrugging off the savoury elements to let the fruit shine. Even with 14.5% alcohol, it’s balanced and round, with no rough edges. A very tasty drop.