This wine shows a dark colour which is typical of unirrigated grapes. The area in which these grapes are grown, Block 8, generally produces a strong and powerful shiraz with fruit flavours of blueberries and licquorice with a nice soft oak undertone. This wine is perfect drinking now, however will cellar well for at least 10 years with the right cellaring conditions.

Growing Region

Mudgee (500m)

Vintage:

A brilliant season with a mild spring and good rainfall then thankfully a dry summer meant that we didn’t have to play too much with the vines as they looked after themselves well, then picked the fruit following bio-dynamic principles.

Vinification Handpicked and crushed into wax lined concrete vats for fermentation. One of the vats had added yeast strains and the other vat was left for natural yeast which is always cooler and hence slower to complete.

The wine was left on skins for a week and then pressed straight into two large American oak casks for almost two years. No filtration and no finings used.

Analysis

14.3 %, pH 3.55, TA 7.13g/l

Reviews

Sphie Otton, Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, Jan 2013
"From an ideal growing season, with no filtration or fining, the emphasis is on fruit flesh, flavour and depth. This is a robust, satisfying shiraz with bramby, black berry fruit, hints of sweek oak and subtle tannins." 

James Halliday, 2013 Australian Wine Companion
"Excellent purple-crimson; a high quality, medium- to full-bodied wine that spent 20 months in large, used American oak casks (4500 l) imparting texture but (happily) little or no vanilla. The overall balance and mouthfeel is admirable. 94 Points"

Kerry Skinner, Illawarra Mercury, July 2012

"Mudgee's David Lowe is one of the industry's best qualifed organic producers. Dark, brooding and complex, matured for 20 months in Amercian oak, lashings of pristine black fruit, a core of spice, poise and balance and the pedigree to cellar for a couple of decades."

Tony Love, The Advertiser, July 2012
"Certified organic reflecting winemaker David Lowe's passion and care in the end, the wine speaks as well. It's bold, and gutsy, like the man behind it, and full of energy, all about the fruit and not a chunk of oak to be witnessed in the drinking. Well structured and deftly dusty, it's a terrific modern shiraz. 4 Stars"

Patrick Haddock, winingpom.com.au, July 2012
"A great year for Mudgee and a great year for David Lowe, here he is showing what he can do with his superb patches of organic fruit. Earthen, black cherry, rich bitter chocolate, some dark plums and damson. The palate is rich and detailed with black fruits hints of spice, it still feels very young and vibrant on the palate. Good weight, nicely medium bodied with a seamless tannin structure and barely noticeable oak, fair amount of length on the finish too. Great drinking and as it’s organic you know its good for you, well that’s what I tell myself."

Mike Bennie, winefront.com.au, August 2012 
‘Block 8 makes our most powerful Shiraz’ – an emphatic statement from the back label. Sound the alarums! Run for the hills! The Force is strong in this one!  Organics. 20 months in 4500 litre American oak casks.

Muted perfume. Touch of nougat and red fruits. I like the palate though. Attack but fine, some meat on boney tannins, but long, ropey lengths of warm red fruits and spice. Has an almost elegant feel, toned and fresh. The oak lends some resinous twang, touch of garam masala-like spice, but not untoward, the fruit stands up proud. Perhaps the concentration is lacking a touch for embellishing the wine, but very good to drink, and refreshing acidity bolsters its longer term prospects.