Shingleback The Gate McLaren Vale Shiraz 2018 (Australia)

Shingleback The Gate McLaren Vale Shiraz 2018 (Australia)French & American oak Blackberry & vanilla Chocolate & nuts Fine tannins "Deeply coloured and deeply delicious, this gorgeous shiraz shows black blueberry, chocolate, cake spice and toasty oak characters on the nose. Its powerful yet graceful on the palate, exhibiting excellent concentration and depth, well supported by silky texture and beautifully melded tannins. Plush and immensely appealing" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2020 "Estate grown fruit. Deep

• French & American oak
• Blackberry & vanilla
• Chocolate & nuts
• Fine tannins

"Deeply coloured and deeply delicious, this gorgeous shiraz shows black/blueberry, chocolate, cake spice and toasty oak characters on the nose. It’s powerful yet graceful on the palate, exhibiting excellent concentration and depth, well supported by silky texture and beautifully melded tannins. Plush and immensely appealing" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Sep 2020

"Estate-grown fruit. Deep crimson/pruple colour; an unusual but extremely attractive wine, with characters normally encountered in cool climates. The intensity of the red/black cherry fruit comes with fine, tailored tannins. The result is a wine of great length, offering pleasure from from the first to last sips" James Halliday Wine Companion 2022

Vibrant, deep, purple-red. Dark cherry and blackberry primary aromas, with nuances of vanilla pod, milk chocolate and roasted nut. A fine tannin structure defines and shapes the bright compote of summer berry flavours into the long finish. This estate reserve wine is a classic, vibrant and fruit-forward McLaren Vale Shiraz from the excellent 2018 vintage.

The Davey Estate Vineyard is located in Whites Valley, at the southern end of the acclaimed McLaren Vale Wine region in South Australia. Kym and John Davey planted & nurture their family-owned and sustainably managed estate vineyard on land their grandfather purchased in the1950’s. Their goal is to produce high-quality, single vineyard wines. Modern viticultural practices that minimise work to the soil & encourage a balanced environment are used. Superior fruit is grown by managing canopies, hand-pruning, precise deficit irrigation & integrated pest management.

After a dry start to winter they had good rainfall, ending up 10% above the long term averages, flushing and filling soil profiles to saturation. Although a mid-September bud burst was later than recent vintages it was in line with long term averages. Spring rainfall was well below average, resulting in low disease pressure. Average day and night spring temperatures were close to record highs, resulting in steady vine shoot growth, catching up some ground after the later bud burst. They had 10mm of rain on December 1st and another 15 mm on December 15th, freshening the vines during early berry development. With only 6 mm of rain in January and 5 mm in February summer rainfall ended up only two thirds of the average. Drier and warmer than average conditions continued through March and April resulting in a disease free and orderly progression to vintage, allowing time for the potential of each batch of grapes to be maximised in the winery. Harvest started with Semillon on February 6th and our McLaren Vale white and rosé blocks were all off by February 19th when the first Davey Estate Shiraz was picked. Shiraz harvest, other than a small parcel for fortified, was completed on March 24th and Cabernet Sauvignon soon after on March 29th, just before Easter. Mataro, the last of the Grenache and Shiraz for fortification were harvested after Easter with all fruit in by April 5th. The 2018 white and rosé wines are richly flavoured with good length. The reds are full bodied and deeply coloured, showing intense fruit flavour with big round chewy tannins. Simply an outstanding vintage with the promise to be rated as one of the great years for McLaren Vale.

Select parcels of fruit from Shiraz vines grown across the Davey Estate Vineyard are handcrafted to maximise the potential of each unique batch. Maturation for 15 months in 1 - 5 year old, fine-grained American (70%) and French (30%) oak hogsheads softens, enhances and integrates the fruit and structural components of the wine. Individual barrel selection is carried out to create the final blend.