Ox Hardy Upper Tintara Shiraz 2016

‘This is a ripping shiraz’

95 Points Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

When Thomas Hardy purchased the Upper Tintara Vineyard in McLaren Vale in 1871, it heralded the foundation of one of Australia’s greatest winemaking dynasties. Today the picturesque property is still owned by the Hardy family, and consists of native protected scrub and approximately 45 Ha of vines, including millennium Shiraz plantings which are the fruit source of this wine.

Following harvest, the fruit was destemmed and crushed into Potter heading-down board fermenters. The must was inoculated with a chosen yeast strain and, once per day, the fermenting juice was drained to another tank, before being pumped back, re-floating the cap of skins, gently extracting colour, tannin and flavour. The wine was drained off and the skins bag-pressed before the combined wine was transferred to French Oak – second fill barriques and three new hogsheads. The wine spent eighteen months maturating in oak before bottling with minimal filtration

“This is a ripping shiraz. It charges at you and let’s you have it, and it does so in such fine style. Maybe there are some floral notes but really it’s just drenched in dark, baked plum-like flavour, combined with asphalt and graphite, and then there’s that rich, dark chocolatey goodness too. It’s the tannin though that really lets rip. This shiraz is polished and modern and yet it doesn’t pussy-foot around. It’s been made by a Hardy in a hearty style, ha ha, but it doesn’t rest on its laurels, it goes straight for the jugular.” – 95 Points Campbell Mattinson, Winefront.