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Frederick Stevenson

2022

‘Piñata’ Dry Red

Red Wine   |   Barossa Valley - Australia
Shelf Talker Spec Sheet Wine Label Bottle Image

About

The Barossa isn’t exactly known for bright, airy, ‘crunchy’ reds, but Steve Crawford is looking to rewrite that narrative. The wine is meant for immediate pleasure – kind of a business card or brochure in what can be expected for the other Barossa Releases of the year. Year after year the blend changes a little due to the vintage conditions. This vintage saw a slight increase in Grenache, but still has Cinsault at the front. 2022 was a wetter winter with a mild & long growing season; the bulk of the grapes were picked mid-March when nights were cool and days were moderate and sunny. As Cinsault gets more established in the vineyard it can play a more leading hand – lower alcohol, pomegranate like acidity, powdery / fine tannins. Grenache provides a bit of pallet volume, softness and sweeter notes on the nose. Syrah a bit of pepper and tannin with the Mourvèdre comes a little herbal / more complex notes. Piñata – smash it!

The fruit was all hand-picked and primarily destemmed (about a third of the Grenache was fermented whole-cluster). The wine fermented separately in open-top fermenters without any additions and once dry was gently pressed, with only the free run juice being sent to a mixture of neutral 228L and 500L French barrels. The wine aged for only 2-3 months and then went to stainless steel for another 6 weeks to settle out prior to bottling (no fining or filtering). It was bottled with just a splash of sulfur.

Stats

  • Grapes: 39% Cinsault - 33% Grenache - 19% Syrah - 8% Mourvèdre
  • Vineyard: Ahrens Vineyard (Cinsault/Syrah) – Hoffman Vineyard (Grenache/Mourvèdre) – Hongell Vineyard (Grenache) – Vine Vale (Grenache)
  • Vine Age: 70+-years-old (Hoffman & Vine Vale Grenache) - 35-years-old (Syrah) – 12-years-old (Cinsault) – 8-years-old (Hongell)
  • Soil Type: Primarily sand and sandy clay
  • Viticulture: Certified Biodynamic (Ahrens) - Practicing organic (Ahrens/Hoffman/Hongell)
  • Fermentation: Native – open top, stainless steel (primarily destemmed with 33% of the Grenache whole-cluster)
  • Skin Contact: 4 weeks (Syrah) - 3 weeks (Grenache) - 2 weeks (Cinsault & Mourvèdre)
  • Aging: 2-3 months in neutral oak then 6 weeks in stainless-steel
  • Alcohol: 12.2%
  • pH: 3.68
  • Total Acidity: 5.3 g/L
  • Total SO2: 43 ppm
  • Total Production: 875 cases

Tasting Note

The Barossa may not be known for light, smashable red wines but this is definitely that wine. This has a vibrant fruit profile (sour cherries, pomegranate, and orange zest) with a nice degree of sapidity in the tannins and lick of spice both on the nose and palate. Give this a chill and experience the magic.

 

 

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Producer


Frederick Stevenson

Region


Barossa Valley

Country


Australia

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