Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz | Half Bottle
The Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz takes its name after Barossa’s lifelong champion of old vines, Carl Lindner. Adopting organic practices, the grapes for this Shiraz come from Dandelion’s Kinkora vineyard, in Seppeltsfield Road, Tanunda, approximately 75 kilometres north east of Adelaide. The vines here range in age from 35 to 108 years old, many planted on their original rootstock. Throughout their vineyards they encourage the humble dandelion among the vines as they suppress winter weeds and provide mulch in summer. At the winery, whole bunches were hand harvested, gently crushed and naturally fermented in open fermenters for eight days. The cap was hand plunged twice a day before the fruit was carefully pressed off the skins using a basket press into a mix of new and previously filled French oak barriques to finish fermentation. After 18 months' maturation and racking in the same oak, the wine was bottled without filtration or fining, to capture the true essence of the vines. Generous, mouth-filling sweet blackberries, raspberries and plums cover the palate with lashings of sweet spice. Firm but fine tannins and dark chocolatey nuances continue throughout the lengthy palate with a youthful finish.