Le Sommelier Inc.

Varietal: Shiraz 100%

Soil type: terra rossa - red clay and loam over limestone

Maturation: 6 months in French oak

Alcohol: 14.5%

Total production: 500 cases

Best drinking: 2008 - 2012

Suggested food: Lamb or meat dishes with sweet sauce, marinated spare ribs

Tasting notes / Reviews:  This wine has captured the wonderfully ripe, rich blackberry fruit of Shiraz from the Gilbert Valley and the distinctive soft, supple mouthfilling fruit weight seen in the 2002 reds.  This wine was made using modern winemaking technology with strict oxygen control (exclusion) to retain natural fruit freshness, without using sulphur dioxide or other allergy-including preservatives to prevent spoilage during winemaking.  The natural preservative qualities of alcohol, the tannins and acid structure will ensure that this wine will continue to improve over the next 5 to 8 years.

"This organically grown shiraz is labeled preservative free due to a yeast isolated by the winemaker that forestalls the creation of sulphur dioxide during fermentation. It’s a big, ripe, smoky, meaty shiraz with blueberry/blackberry fruit, licorice, mint and pepper. Full bodied, a touch sweet with dry tannin. Excellent length. 89 pts David Lawrason

"Best preservative-free in Australia" - 91 pts James Halliday