Invitational Chatsfield Syrah 2022
CRUSHED VELVET • LAVENDER • BOYSENBERRY
From 40-year-old vines planted on a ridgetop of granitic sand and rocky ironstone clay loams, the vines gave tiny oval berries of dark purple colour and deep floral intensity. 100% whole cluster ferment gave intensely purple and blue fruited plushness with spice and a focused juicy yet finely framed palate, speaking of a harsh year of extremes. This 2022 vintage Syrah beguiles and seduces, unfurling and blossoming with some cellar age. 750ml
Accolades
96 points, The Real Review
Ranked #1 of 20 2022 Shiraz from Great Southern
Deep, saturated purple-red hue, excellent colour; deep and brooding dark-fruit aromas laced with a twist of black peper; the palate is intense an dfull-bodied, but light on its feet at the same moment. A very elegant, stylish shiraz with cool-climate flavours and intense flavour. Not a big wine but very intense, focused and long-lasting. A superb shiraz, well described as a syrah style.
93 points, Halliday Wine Companion
The fruit from this wine comes from a single site, planted in the early 1980s. Whole-bunch characters (herbal, minty, mezcal, floral) echo loudly in the wine, but this befits the 'syrah' moniker, delivering peppery nature married to the inherent red berry, raspberry fruit found in the wine. Tannins are puckering, fresh, acidity green and briny, both keeping the wine tight and racy. An exciting expression, quite overt in its whole-bunch seasoning, as a caveat, but I see the appeal in a more svelte and spicy expression.
Appearance: deep translucent purple, magenta edges
Aroma: deep exotic purple flowers, deep lilac, dark rose, dark roasted spices, touch of mocha, xmas cake, dark forest floor, cedar bark, crushed velvet curtain
Palate: round powerful ripe purple forest berries, dark plums, blackberry and mulberry, juicy, bramble, black berry cane, dark salted chocolate, refined, detailed and powdery tannins, red and black currants, purple wildflowers, tightly coiled, delicate yet powerful
A cool, wet winter with very high rainfall was followed by a warm to hot and dry summer. The vines grew quickly, developing excellent canopies. Delayed bud burst affected flowering and gave lower yields. Whites and rosé had very complex aromatics and flavours with bright acidities. This was a cool vintage, which allowed the slow development of complex characters and beautiful acidities within the grapes.
Hand harvested early morning in early April, the fruit was cool when it arrived at the winery but was held in a refrigerated container for two days. It was then tipped as 100% whole bunches into an open top fermenter and allowed to sit cool before being foot trodden (pigeage) over several days. Once the liquid was released and the cap could be submerged, the tank was hand plunged 1-3 times daily until dryness. Some post-ferment maceration ensued for complexity and structure, building complete tannins with vibrant colours for a total of 17 days on skins; the skins were then pressed gently using a basket program with no rotations to minimise tannin extractions, especially from the stems.
Aged in 100% French oak with 38% new (medium-long toast to elevate freshness and fruit) and the balance seasoned utilising 300L hogsheads and 228L barriques for 14 months on fine lees. The tight-grained oak from Fontainebleau and Tronçais forests gave fine framing, lifting the fruit.
- Vintage 2022
- Alcohol 13.9%
- Vineyard Chatsfield Vineyard, Mt Barker
- Varietal Syrah
- Bottling date August 2023
- Region Great Southern, Western Australia
- Sub-region Mt Barker
- Residual sugar <2 g/l
- pH 3.71
- Acidity 6.1 g/l