Glaetzer - 2009 Bishop Shiraz.

The Glaetzer Family: The Glaetzer family has been a part of the Barossa Valley and its viticulture history since 1888. After thirty years of winemaking, Colin Glaetzer established the family winery to create wines he's passionate about - limited quantities of benchmark Barossa Valley reds. Today, his son Ben carries on this winemaking tradition at Glaetzer Wines.

Name & Label: Bishop is the family name of Colin's wife Judith. Fittingly, the sign of Venus, a symbol which has come to represent women and feminine energy, is the centrepiece of the Bishop label. In mythology, the symbol meant the Roman goddess Venus or her Greek equivalent Aphrodite. But the sign has also been linked back to ancient Egypt - a nod to Bishop's link to Amon-Ra and Anaperenna.

The Wine: A blend of fruit from 35 year-old vines & 120 year-old vines is the key to the Bishop cuvee. The fruit from younger vines is fresh and vibrant, whilst Shiraz from the oldest blocks in the Ebenezer vineyard give structure and enhance palate profile.

Wisps of cloves, nutmeg and five spice add definition to the layers of dark stone fruits and espresso. The palate has density yet also displays savoury, textural components and fine-grained ripe tannins.

A perfect food wine that is fresh and flavoursome and finishes with impressive lenght and depth.

Region: All fruit for Glaetzer wines is taken from the small sub-region of the northern Barossa Valley, called Ebenezer. The viticulture used is standard single wire, with permanent arm rod and spur. Many of the very old vines (80-130 years old) have been trained onto a trellis for easy of pruning, harvesting and for disease and frost control.

Vinification: 1 1/2 - 2 ton open fermenters, hand plunged 2-3 times daily. Extended maceration to enable good tannin development so the wine is soft and approachable early. 10-20% barrel fermentation for selected batches. Due to perfect fruit & vintage conditions, a portion of new French oak was used for maturation.