Mount Edelstone 2007

Grape Variety

100% 90-year-old-vine shiraz grown in the Eden Valley wine region.

Technical Details

Harvest Date: 16 March - 3 April
Alcohol: 14% | pH: 3.56 | Acidity: 6.6 g/L |

Maturation

Matured in 90% new, 10% seasoned French (67%) and American (33%) hogsheads for 21 months prior to blending and bottling.

Background

The Mount Edelstone vineyard, situated in the Eden Valley, was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, a descendant of George Fife Angas, who founded South Australia. Unusual for its time, it was planted solely to shiraz. The ancient 500 million year-old soils on the vineyard are deep red-brown clay-loam to clay resulting in low yields from the nearly 95-year-old dry-grown ungrafted vines. First bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 1952, it became recognised as one of Australia’s greatest shiraz wines.

Vintage Description

The 2007 vintage shaped up to be another high quality year but with significantly reduced yields in Eden Valley. The highly publicised drought of 2006 was reported as the worst ever. Certainly the rainfall at Eden Valley for the three months of winter at only 90mm compared to the average of 200mm was one of our driest. Despite an early winter break, rainfall during winter and spring was the worst for years in the lead-up to flowering. There was significant spring frost damage in Eden Valley, with a yield loss of 20-25%, compounded by the drought and lack of subsoil moisture with overall losses of up to 50%.

Brief heat waves occurred during January; otherwise it was mild and dry. At the end of January a tropical air mass connected with a cold front to bring good rains to the agricultural areas of South Australia, with flooding up north. The 70mm rainfall fell steadily over four days, coinciding with veraison, which freshened up the vine canopy to assist with ripening the fruit for harvest. February was recorded as the hottest for 100 years, which brought the already reduced crop to an earlier ripening phase.

Wine Description

Deep crimson/black in colour. A delightfully fragrant bouquet of anise, plum, sage and pepper with blackberry and vanilla hints adding complexity. The palate is lush and fleshy in texture with elegant fine, velvety tannins contributing to the wine’s length.

Cellaring Potential

Great vintage, drink now to 2022

Serving Idea