Patritti Wines JPB Limited Release Shiraz 2018

2018 JPB Limited Release Shiraz McLaren Vale

We named this wine after our founder Giovanni (John) Patritti, one of the earliest Italians to settle in Australia in 1925. The label design is reminiscent of the earliest Patritti labels and features the original JPB logo. Trading as ‘John Patritti Brighton’ referring to the greater region of Adelaide where the winery is located, the demand for his wines steadily grew. Today, the original JPB branding iron is still used to stamp barrels and grandson, James Mungall makes the wines that are enjoyed around the world.

VINEYARD

The fruit for this wine is sourced from selected rows in the family’s own Blewitt Springs vineyard in the McLaren Vale region. Planted in 1960, the vineyard’s free draining sandy soil, mild to warm climate and high elevation create a site perfectly suited to growing premium low yielding Shiraz grapevines.

VINTAGE

Spring started cool keeping vines dormant and delaying bud burst. Temperatures warmed with above average rainfall providing healthy canopies on the vines to begin summer. Very hot conditions in January and February slightly reduced crop levels in some varieties before finishing with a dry, sunny growing season. Despite a small reduction in volume, the fruit was very good quality with ripe flavours and tannin at low sugar levels.

VINIFICATION

Harvested from the estate’s Blewitt Springs vineyard at approximately 1.8t per acre, the fruit was crushed, destemmed and soaked for two days prior to fermentation to extract maximum colour without the production of alcohol. Fermented on skins for eight days before pressing, the wine was transferred to predominantly new French and American oak barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. Following MLF the wine was aged in barrel for 14 months before bottling without fining or filtration.

TASTING COMMENTS

Very deep and dark almost black in colour with a deep garnet hue. Typical of Blewitt Springs the nose is loaded with blue fruits. Raspberry and plum are there too, working with chocolate, mocca and coffee from the predominantly new French and American oak. The palate is powerful and structured but is so finely balanced that there is still a sense of softness. Intense fruit flavours overlay the oak and it all finishes with a surprising freshness indicating plenty of ageing potential.