Head The Blonde Shiraz 2021

The Head The Blonde Shiraz is from a single vineyard in the Stone Well parish and has a myriad of soil types including red-clays and grey sands (Blonde in colour) running the length of the vineyard.  It always show perfume and jube-like blue fruits, crops naturally at around 1.5 tonne to the acre and produces riper, plumper, sweeter fruited wines while still retaining acidity due to the higher limestone content of the soil. Sometimes between 2-5% Viognier skins are included in the ferment for aroma, to soften tannin, set colour, add texture, freshness and more complexity with bottle age. There is also some retention of whole-bunches during fermentation over two weeks with daily foot-treading, hand-plunging and pump-overs. Maturation in oak is for a year in specially selected 300L French hogsheads of which 33% are new.

Alex Head has long been interested in 'Old-World' wines and their symbiosis with all things culinary; particularly Shiraz from an appellation in France's Northern Rhone Valley called Cote Rotie (roasted slope). Shiraz has been the only red grape grown there for thousands of years, initially thought to have been cultivated by the Roman Empire. A great legend states that in the Middle Ages, a Seigneur of Ampuis called 'Count Maugiron' owned the steeply terraced hills of Cote Rotie. He was also blessed with two beautiful daughters, one a blonde and the other a brunette. The Southern slope of the Cote (also suited to viognier) which contains more granite, mica and limestone made a softer, rounded more elegant wine which delighted its drinkers with perfume and femininity. Here, the soil and wines showed colour and character of his blonde daughter. The Northern slope contained heavy soils of schist and iron, producing an intense wine with dark fruits and tannin that required age to show its true potential. Here, the soil and wine showed colour and character of his brunette daughter. When Count Maugiron finally retired he passed on the two Cotes to his daughters and to this day, they are still referred to as the 'Cote Blonde' and 'Cote Brune'.

The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal -  Shiraz
Country - Australia
Region - Barossa Valley, South Australia
Vintage - 2021
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 13.5%