Personalised Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz 2021 14.5% 750ml
Personalised Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz 2021 14.5% 750ml
TASTING NOTES
PALATE
A small addition of co-fermented Viognier (planted nearby) filled out the palate and completed the wines delicate tannin profile.
REGION NOTES
For 2021, 'The Blonde' came from a vineyard planted in the 'Barossa Ranges' of the Eden Valley GI. The Shiraz (at 450m elevation) was planted in 1962 on an east west downwards slope protected by the afternoon sun. The soils are granitic and sandy over limestone and clay.
GRAPES/BLEND
98% Shiraz, 2% Viognier.
VINIFICATION
2-5t open top stainless steel, indigenous yeast, two-week ferment, hand-plunging & pump-over twice daily.
MATURATION
17 months on fine lees, 15% new French oak 228L.
EXPERT REVIEWS
GARY WALSH
95 Points
Blue and black fruits, white flowers, milk chocolate and praline, aromatic spices. It's supple, mouth-filling and plush, ginger biscuits, a little grilled meat, plenty of crushed stone tannin, apricot kernel, and a dense and ripe tannin finish of excellent length, some classic Eden sage perfume lingers. An excellent release.
The Wine Front, 11 August, 2023
HEAD WINES
Winemaker Alex Head's dream to make elegant Barossa wines began in 1999 while travelling through some of Europe's greatest wine growing regions, along with his longheld fascination with the synergy of good wine, fine food and happy company at the table. Head Wines is all that and more.
Alex follows a traditional negociant model, an old practice where the winemaker does not grow their own grapes, instead working with a number of small growers. Around three-quarters of the grapes that end up in Head Wines' bottles are sourced from a carefully chosen selection of these elevated Eden Valley sites. All of these vineyards are farmed sustainably using organic principles where possible; yields are controlled and grapes are hand-picked.
Not being tied to his own vineyards has allowed Alex to spend years understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a number of sites in pursuit of his individual style. Alex creates great Barossan wines that are memorably balanced whilst pursuing styles that are intentional and truly of place. This is sublime winemaking.