Levantine Hill Melissa’s Paddock Syrah 2017

Produced from an assemblage of 6 distinct small batches. All fruit was hand-picked, hand-sorted then selectively destemmed or crushed as individual parcels to open fermenters.The fruit in each vat was soaked at ambient temperature prior to initiation of natural fermentation. Inoculation with yeast strains Enoferm Syrah or Rhône 2323 was undertaken about one-third of the way through fermentation. Judicious amounts of grape stalks were included in select fermentations for aromatic lift and complexity plus contribution of an additional sweep of tannin to the palate structure and finish. Ferments were minimally handled and allowed to heat up to 32-34°C prior to initiation of hand-plunging (maximum once per day) for gentle extraction and integration of colour and tannin. The pressed components were settled overnight prior to racking as individual lots to a combination of new (32%) and seasoned premium French oak puncheons. The individual batches stayed as separate barrel lots until immediately prior to blending for bottling.