Celebrating the Successful Completion of Our Fourth Chockstone Vintage
Eva and I are pleased to share the news that Chockstone’s 2009 vintage, which ended in late March, turned out to be another great harvest. Despite “the elements,” which made things a bit exciting for us early on, with very dry and challenging conditions, a much more moderate ripening season meant quite an early harvest and lighter than expected crops. But the results were great! Vintage 2008 has given us a fabulously floral and refined Riesling, and a Shiraz that is as complex and spicy as ever.
Adam (in the weird sunglasses) with vineyard magician, Andrew Toomey
Even better news is that after eight years of drought, our winter rainfall returned to almost normal levels, resulting in a very green and beautiful start to spring … and very happy vines (and winegrowers!).
This year, we harvested the 2009 Chockstone Riesling at a slightly lower sugar level. The flavors were just right a little earlier than normal, so we figured, why wait! The idea was to emphasize those delicate wildflower characters whilst ensuring that we have a ripe, yet crisp acid structure.
Chockstone Riesling grapes ready for harvest
As usual, the Riesling was bottled in July, just four months after it was harvested. Our aim is to capture the essence of a Riesling wine while it is still at its freshest (and of course under a screwcap!), which sets the wine up for a most exciting and long bottle development. The 2009 Chockstone Riesling was released in December 2009.
Eva and a bunch of Clone R6W Shiraz from one of the younger vines
Also ready for release soon, the 2008 Chockstone Shiraz was bottled in early October, after 18 months of aging—just the right amount of time for the grapes’ primary flavors to integrate with the subtle flavors of the French and American barrels. Don’t worry, my aim with the barrels is merely to provide a complex of tannins and subtle flavor compounds (from the oak) to act as a nucleus upon which the more important fruit flavors can develop.
Shiraz grapes cold-soaking before fermentation
I find that as the Chockstone Shiraz develops in the cellar, the intensity of the blackberry flavors increase and the tannins become more silky, satin-like almost. Don’t forget that Shiraz wines from the Grampians always have a well-integrated acid and tannin structure, meaning that they will have a long life in the bottle and develop stylishly over time. What other type of Shiraz would you want to drink!
The 2008 Chockstone Shiraz was released in January 2010.
Cheers,
Adam and Eva
