Eisenstone Barossa Valley Ebenezer Shiraz

Celebrating the rich German heritage of the Barossa Valley, the name Eisenstone comes from a blend of the German word for iron, Eisen and the English, Stone. The name celebrates the Ironstone soils in which the vines grow and the stone used by the original German settlers to build much of the famous Barossa buildings that still stand to this very day.

This is a brilliantly unique project headed by creator and winemaker Stephen Cook, who secures special parcels of grapes from the "˜western ranges of the famous Barossa Valley which are renowned for producing fuller bodied, powerful wines with amazing depth of flavour and exceptional aging ability. No more than 800 bottles of each wine are produced in any given vintage, each individually numbered. Within the Valley there are a number of recognised sub regions that vary in climate and soil type and bring out subtle differences in the variety.

Shiraz,

The grapes were sourced from Adrian Hoffmann’s vineyard at Ebenezer in the northern end of the Barossa Valley. The blend is largely from the Micken block which is a younger planting of cuttings sourced from iconic old vine vineyards. The block is situated on small red loan rise that is of extremely high potential soil.

The grapes were fermented in small batches and after fermentation was matured in 50% new French oak for 20 months prior to bottling. Minimal intervention is used in the winemaking process and the wine is moved the minimal times prior to bottling and is not cold stabilised or filtered.

The colour is rich and deep with purple hue. The flavours are concentrated but with a finesse and poise and associate with the Northern Barossa. The nose is of classic blueberry and savoury oak aromas. The palate has abundant berry fruit supported by a tight tannin structure that pulls the wine together to give it persistence.

Drink with T-bone!

Nolan - Text from the Spotlight On French Red Wines & Their Global Influences blog

The Barossa GI is Australia’s most iconic wine region, famous for its robust red wines some of which are made from the oldest vines grown anywhere in the world. The Barossa GI sits on the traditional lands of three First Nations; The Peramank, Ngadjuri and Kaura nations. All three of these nations share some central “Dreamtime Stories” which recognise the unique soils, lands, animals, hills and aspects of the area now known as “Barossa” that makes it such a special place and made it so attractive to the first vine growers. The concepts of these stories are very similar to how we would describe vineyards in the concept of “terroir.” The “Barossa Wine Growers Association” has an acknowledgement that speaks to all 3 of nations in terms of landownership and management.

The Barossa GI is known to be a warm "Mediterranean" climate but the reality is way more complicated. At a basic level though, the Barossa is split into two main sub regions, the warmer Barossa valley and the cooler, higher altitude Eden Valley. Wine maker, Stephen Cook, sourced the grapes for this wine from Adrian Hoffmann’s vineyard around the town of Ebenezer, situated at the northern end of the Barossa Valley. The ancient, dry-grown vineyards in this district are renowned as being warmer, with lower rainfall and relative humidity compared to the rest of the Barossa Valley and are an important part of Australia’s winemaking heritage and a living link to traditional Barossan viticulture.

The blend of grapes in this wine is largely from Adrian Hoffmann’s Micken block, this is a younger planting of cuttings, all sourced from iconic old vine vineyards. The block is situated on a small, red loan rise that is of extremely high-quality soil. The grapes were fermented in small batches and after fermentation, the wine was matured in 50% new French oak for 20 months prior to bottling. Minimal intervention is used in the winemaking process; the wine is moved the minimal times prior to bottling and is not cold stabilised or filtered.

Mark in our shop absolutely loves this wine, the nose is of classic blueberry and savoury oak aromas. The palate has abundant berry fruit supported by a tight tannin structure that pulls the wine together to give it persistence. Aussie style Shiraz is often very high in tannins, these tannins are pure velvet though and not spikey or green as you can find in less sunny climates. These elevated tannins work very well with vegetarian foods, veggie or bean burgers, aubergine or sweet potato, if that isn’t your jam, grab a beef burger!