2020 Sanguine Estate 'Inception' Shiraz 750ml

Tasting Notes

Immediately obvious we have a deeply concentrated Heathcote Shiraz. The colour is a dense bright purple hue and dark red.  Aromas of rich ripe berries, definitely in the black fruits spectrum with a complex array of smokey cedar wood, dried herbs, coffee beans and aniseed spice.  The palate is deliciously juicy and soft for such young wine. Rich blackberry fruit throughout with a hint of aniseed on the finish. The tannins are fine and fruit rich so already wonderfully balanced and can be enjoyed now but will definitely soften and gain complexity over time.  Enjoy, Mark Hunter WINEMAKER

Assorted, poached dark stone fruit intermingled with the finest vanilla podded crème anglaise. So: intensely concentrated in the fruit — and oak — department, but with classic Heathcote rose-hip and sumac adding tang. This is much how it tastes too. Seriously concentrated fruit in here, but the palate is also bright and energy-packed, driven along by persistent, drying, terra cotta tannins. Complex, rye sourdough crust, jamon, and soy mouth-aroma wafts then follow, and linger. Serious red that will reward a five year-spell — minimum — in a cellar. 95(96)/100 Wine writer Tim White 

Origin of Name

When we introduced the Progeny Shiraz and D’Orsa shiraz to our range, it was always our intention to add a “stage” name to the “Estate” shiraz however it has taken some time to agree on that perfect name.  So from the 2012 vintage, the “Estate” Shiraz was called “Inception” meaning the beginning of something or the establishment or starting point of our family business. A very fitting name considering the Estate shiraz is our flagship wine.

Vintage Overview

A vintage to forget for so many reasons. Heat, drought, smoke, very small harvest and a pandemic thanks to Covid-19 challenged my resolve.  To start the drama, summer kicked in early with a very warm and dry October & November and only one relieving bit of rain late in December. The vines struggled from the beginning with only a small canopy and a tiny 0.5 of a tonne crop – 30% of our normal crop.

A smoke haze threatened to ruin everything but thankfully it was not thick enough to leave a taint.  As we got into February thankfully the weather cooled, and the ripening slowed helping to shape a better vintage than it started out to be.   Covid-19 nearly ruined the party, but we managed to harvest the whole crop in a quarter of the time with some excellent results, albeit much smaller than normal.

Winemaking

We utilize traditional winemaking practices such as small fermentation tanks, natural fermentation (i.e. no yeast additions) and gravity feeding. Whilst this can be quite labour intensive, we believe it ensures the preservation of natural fruit flavours and the Heathcote terrior character. As with all varieties produced at Sanguine Estate, the grapes were destemmed, lightly crushed and then naturally fermented with wild indigenous yeasts in small open fermenters. The wine is then transferred via gravity (to avoid pump shock) to predominantly French oak barriques (approximately 10% new) and left to mature for approximately 18 months.

100% Shiraz

Awards

• Silver Medal – 2022 The Victorian Wine Show
• Silver Medal – 2022 Australian & New Zealand Boutique Wine Show