Tyrrell's Lunatiq Heathcote Shiraz 2021

Heathcote is one of Australia’s exciting red wine regions. Its unique topography, combined with a temperate climate and ancient Cambrian soils, produces Shiraz fruit with great depth and intensity. The resulting wines are powerful yet elegant with rich fruit characters complimented by pepper spice, balanced with acidity and fine-grained tannins.

Planted back in 1994, their Heathcote vineyard finds its place on a stretch of ancient and highly valued Cambrian soil. This unique vineyard sits on the slopes of Mount Camel in Central Victoria, positioned to the east, overlooking the Heathcote township. The rich history of these soils is deeply intertwined with the region, imparting distinct qualities to the wine produced. The most aged and finest sections of the vineyard were specifically chosen for the Lunatiq blend.

The year 2021 brought remarkably favorable conditions to Heathcote. Following ample winter rainfall, a gentle and worry-free spring and autumn ensued. The luxury of time allowed the vintners to patiently wait until each block of grapes had reached its optimum level of ripeness, resulting in an exceptional yield of fruit. This bounty of fruit was received at the winery in impeccable condition – plump, vigorous, and displaying an impressive hue. Among the grape clusters, approximately 17% were delicately handpicked, while the rest underwent destemming without crushing, preserving as many whole berries as possible.

The winemaking process involved a three-day cold soak, succeeded by a 14-day fermentation at 23ºC in open-top fermenters. Throughout this process, careful pump overs were performed to extract the desired flavors and colors without overemphasizing the tannins. The wine then matured in meticulously selected French oak barriques with a fine grain, 15% of which were new barrels. This maturation lasted for a span of 14 months, during which the most exceptional barrels were meticulously chosen and patiently set aside until the time of bottling.