The opulent Barossa Valley Estate E&E Black Pepper Shiraz is meticulously crafted from the finest mature, independently dry-grown vineyards nestled in the northern Barossa sub-regions of Moppa and Ebenezer. These vineyards, boasting an average age exceeding 60 years, produce fruit of unparalleled power and finesse. Employing open-headed down fermenters and undergoing a carefully orchestrated aging process in a blend of new, one, and two-year-old American and French oak for a duration of 12 to 18 months, this wine emerges as an embodiment of excellence.
Distinguished by its remarkable intensity and concentration, the E&E Black Pepper Shiraz captivates the palate with notes of dark choco-berry, seductive liquorice, ripe tannins, mid-palate richness, and a nuanced undercurrent of malty oak complexity. Beyond its immediate allure, this wine is endowed with the structural attributes necessary for medium to long-term cellaring, rendering it highly coveted in the secondary market.
Matured 20–24 months in 50% new French oak barrels. A big, bold Black Pepper. Full, vibrant purple red. Deep, dark blackberry and prune fruit meets the full-frontal impact of long ageing in new French oak, making for a savoury and leathery style. Firm, coarse oak tannins conspire with hot alcohol to build a grainy and dry finish. It screams out for time to subsume oak and tannin, but lacks the fruit brightness and body to go the distance.