3 Amigos Shiraz Grenache Mataro 2006

Tasting Note

Red berries flavours from the mataro, floral lift from the grenache, and tobacco undertones from the shiraz: a generous red blend. Sweet fruit on the palate marries into a wine that shows roundness and balance from three of our four vineyards. The 3 Amigos is defined by earthen characters wrapped around a lingering rustic tannin core. Gritty, yet moreish it's the ploughman wine for the businessman lunch.

The Season

A mild and wet January pushed us 2 weeks past the average on picking dates. Challenges resulted for both birds and sugar development, and a heavy rainfall after the Easter full moon in April wiped out anything that wasn't picked. Acids in the whites evolved naturally allowing for great linear structure whilst tannin development in reds was slow requiring great care with extraction. All in all we saw softer wines with brilliant natural acidity.

Vineyards

The red amigos are sourced separately from three of the McHenry Hohnen vineyards - shiraz from Rocky Road, grenache from McLeod Creek and mataro from McHenry's.

Rocky Road and McLeod Creek lie in the southern subregion of Margaret River near Witchcliffe McHenry's sits comfortably on the unofficial border between north and south, overlooking the Margaret River. The three sites share similar soils, being tough laterite gravels derived from granite. These free draining, moderately fertile soils restrain the growth habit of these normally vigorous varieties and promote concentration of flavour in small crops of fully ripe grapes.

All vines on the McHenry Hohnen vineyards are grown on a single bilateral cordon with a vertically trained canopy. It is a simple and practical format that maximises light penetration and maintains a balanced vine.

Vinification

Grapes are fermented in small, open vats allowing precise judgements as fermentation proceeds and colour, flavour and tannins are extracted from the skins. Towards the completion of the primary fermentation the skins are pressed and the wine run to barrel for finishing and maturation. The blend is assembled in late summer, prior to bottling ahead of the next vintage.

Print Friendly Wine Notes

3 Amigos Red 2006 (DOC 655.5 KB)