Description

Established in 1999 by the Burns family the Shays Flat Estate Vineyard comprises 18.5 ha. Located in the Landsborough Valley on the western side of the Victorian Pyrenees Ranges. Mostly  planted to Shiraz with Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Merlot. A lot of good producers sourced fruit from here making it quite an important, if unrecognised, vineyard.

Just starting to show its age, the colour is still bright with brown at the rim. The nose still shows blackberries and cherry with hints of tobacco. The opulent palate is showing a lot of secondary characters with licorice and leather. Very soft and supple, long finishing and delightful to drink. Best drunk in the next 5 years with a nice steak.

Pyrenees

As the Great Dividing Range heads south into the Pyrenees foothills and ranges it helps to create a remarkable diversity of microclimates. 40 or so vineyards are active in the region but only a handful of brands are visible. Having said that, a lot of great producers source fruit from Pyrenees. Savoury, spicy reds are the order of the day with some aromatic whites being quite successful too.

Shiraz/Syrah

A bit of a chameleon, Shiraz can change how it looks depending on terroir and/or wine maker influence. The Syrah based wines of Northern Rhone are dry and austere while the Shiraz of Barossa is rich and fleshy. A variety that lends itself to long aging but can be drunk at any time of its evolution.