$125.00
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There is so much more to Barossa Shiraz than the big jammy fruit bombs that seem to grab the high profile attention. Don’t get me wrong, these wines definitely have their place in the ‘book of shiraz’ it’s just that they are a chapter, rather than the whole story.
Sourced from individual patches of our Stonewell Hill and Stelzer Road Vineyards .
Total production 2040 bottles
576 Re-Released August 2023
Brooding deep rich red, bright rim
Milk chocolate over pure ‘Barossa plums’ with red liquorice and a hint of char,. youthful briar notes and hints of fragrant tea give a pretty and inviting nose
Ripe plums and red summer berries with lifted sour Cherry undertones, charry yeasty richness overlaid with red strap liquorice, milk chocolate, some earthiness and leather. The fine elegant tannins eventually run into a long lingering savory finish.
Well, here’s a turn-up for the books. We released the last Benjamin’s Promise in late February and here I sit in Late November of 2017 penning the label for the 2013. Luckily it’s looking bloody good and ‘Champing at the bit’. Ben, like his namesake is also raring to go. As of yesterday, last exams are done & final assignments are in. Goodbye year eleven& hello Freedom! YES - Summer holidays - endless days - Shenanigans booked in! Between Kicking back and doing bugger all, Ben is working on his slow motion ‘Hulk’ transformation. Our fresh faced boy is morphing daily into this well built hairy young man pretty keen to sniff after the opposite sex. I’m still reconciling the bass tones that now rumble ‘Hey Dad...’ and follow up with ‘...want to wrestle?’ with the whippet that once was. I (of course) gracefully decline and ponder the pecking order in the house the day he puts me down. Luckily age and treachery are on my side and this old dog has a few tricks to show a young buck... for a year or two at least! Between raging hormones and his share of teenage angst, Ben still slowly recovers from Post Concussion Syndrome. He’s pretty much reconciled that he will never ‘bounce’ again so Nicki and I are giving him a little breathing space to find his feet. Our hearts hurt (like all parent’s do I guess) that his life keeps throwing up new shit to deal with time and again but happily, the good nature that defines Ben still ‘has his back’. I guess, given the fast pace of change for Ben this year, it’s sort of fitting the latest vintage steps up to the plate early!
The 2013 Benjamin’s Promise Shiraz was tempered on the vines in a year that saw really even fruit set coupled with an early Easter. The Easter full moon is a good rule of thumb as to where the tail end of vintage will be happening and 2013 ran true to form. We picked all our Shiraz over a five day period from the 21st to the 26th of February which were given the ‘rummage of love’ in 19 different small batch parcels. As always, the fruit was taken from Sand, Loam and Clay across our Stone Well Hill Bultawilta and Stelzer Road Vineyards. Each small batch of Shiraz was hand plunged 3 times daily and spent between 27 to 49 days on skins. This extended skin contact is the secret to velvety tannins and the intense fruit drive that are the hallmark of the Benjamin’s Promise Shiraz. The ‘unstoppable’ but gentle Hypac basket press extracted every last drop of black gold from the skins which was then filled to new and seasoned French Oak Hogsheads on full lees for 3 years ageing before being racked to tank to settle. After final blending, 2040 bottles were filled (unfiltered) of the 2013 Benjamin's Promise Shiraz.
In 2023, 576 bottles have been re-released of the the Cellar Release 2013 Benjamin's Promise Shiraz. Each bottle ( as always ) has been hand printed wrapped and packaged with care by the team at david Franz before wending its way to you. Enjoy and Cheers!
