The 2018 release of these wines from Australia’s Barossa showcase the “power and elegance” of the vintage.
The 2018 vintage was quite something in Australia. Craig Stansborough, chief winemaker at Grant Burge, an estate founded in 1865, notes that "while the 2018 harvest was very dry, the quality of the fruit was excellent, thanks to the water retention in the soils from rain leading up to vintage." He explains that the dryness of the season meant low disease pressure and that this, coupled with cool night temperatures, allowed the vines to produce fruit with exceptional character and flavour." For Stansborough this is a vintage that unites power and elegance within the one glass."
Old vines
The 2018 vintage of the Nebu Cabernet Shiraz is only the third release of this wine, with the Cabernet Sauvignon being sourced from the Cameron Vale Vineyard and the Shiraz from the 100-year-old vines of the Filsell vineyard. The Abednego Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre, something of a holy trinity of varieties in Australian blends, also bears out the elegance of the year. Stansborough stresses the "ripeness, spice, floral notes and structure" of the Mourvèdre in particular.
But why release such winter warmers in August when it still is late summer in the northern hemisphere and early spring in the southern? Quite simply because the wines are for laying down: Stansborough reckons they will come into their own from 2030 onwards. So squirrel them away for a wintry night in the future when the captured sunlight of the deep Barossa and the energy of these old vines will warm you.
Grant Burge Nebu Cabernet Shiraz 2018
Grant Burge Abednego Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2018
