Head Red Shiraz 2021

Winemaker Alex Head’s dream to make elegant Barossa wines began in 1999 while travelling through some of Europe’s greatest wine growing regions, along with his longheld fascination with the synergy of good wine, fine food and happy company at the table. Head Wines is all that and more.

A rather large jigsaw puzzle of 10 very unique Barossa vineyards are used for Head Red Shiraz. They mostly come from the higher altitude, rocky, cooler sites of the Eden Valley. In the winery there is very little ‘fancy’ winemaking — ultimately allowing the vintage and Barossa character to show clearly. 2021’s growing season was mild & dry with warm flowering conditions helping yields to settle in above average. Conditions were dominated by La Nina forming over the east coast of Australia providing mild temperatures and cooler nights in South Australia. Ripening conditions were near perfect and even an Indian Summer prevailed. 2021 promises to be one of the great years for the Barossa.

The mild and cool conditions gave the vines time to produce fruit (particularly shiraz) that has both powerful tannins & rich flavours. There’s richness and grand texture in the mid palate, with some of the aromatic prettiness of 2018. Some whole-bunch fermentation into some of the Eden Valley components and co-fermented with some viognier. This is the first wine we have released to use a large component of older ex-chardonnay barriques for a longer than usual maturation. They have found over years of trials that it gives us the best levels of purity and freshness in this wine. Only cement or terracotta would go further but, they do love oak and it is traditional!

This is a chance for me to play with the old adage, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. Certainly, the best value, most traditional style and most popular wine of the portfolio. - Alex Head, Winemaker 

The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - 88% Shiraz, 8% Merlot, 3% Grenache, 2% Viognier
Country - Australia
Region - Barossa Valley, Australia
Vintage - 2021
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 14.5%