Yalumba Paradox Shiraz 2015

Paradox: A person or thing made up of contradictory elements. The Paradox is not what you might expect from a wine from the northern Barossa. It’s not the high octane, lots of new oak stereotypical northern Barossa Shiraz, but rather a softer, more gentle velvet-like and savoury style of wine.

About the Vineyard

The Northern area of the Barossa Valley has some of the oldest landscapes in the Barossa. At 200 million years old, these bed rocks have formed the soils in which the grape vines grow. It is also one of the early grape growing areas of the Barossa with many generational growers who are both traditional and attune to the needs of making their vineyards sustainable with modern viticultural thinking. After a drier than average winter budburst was early and even. Post veraison growing season conditions were for the most part dry and warm with rainfall over the growing season well below average. While summer temperatures were slightly above average there were few extremes and importantly relatively cool nights, creating grapes that were full of flavour and character. 2013 will be remembered as an excellent Barossa vintage.

Wine Production

Made with little intervention, the 2013 Paradox used small parcels of grapes fermented with wild yeast in 30hL French open top oak vats. With no refrigeration the ferments naturally get quite warm allowing the fruit flavours and textures to express themselves, while the tannin extraction is minimal. Natural malolactic fermentation occurs in oak, the majority of which is old and larger format puncheons. Matured for 20 months in French oak, mainly 500L puncheons, 14% of which was first use.

Tasting Notes

An inky, crimson wine. Aromas are complex - full of mixed spice and crushed black pepper, violets and fennel with hints of blueberries. The palate is like layers of velvet with great structure and flavours reminiscent of satsuma plums, olives, black pepper and anise. Finishing savoury it is driven by fine powdery tannins.

Food Pairing

Pumpkin & mushroom risotto with truffle & roasted beetroot Grilled lamb backstrap with chimichurri & roasted potatoes Dark chocolate cake with poached sour cherries & fresh cream

Vineyard & Production Info

Vineyard name:

Multiple Vineyards

Soil composition:

Barossa Vineyards

Elevation:

500 feet

Average Vine Age:

25 years

Certifying organizations:

ISO14001; Entwine Australia

Sustainability certification:

EPA Acredited Sustainability Licence

Winemaking & Aging

Varietal composition:

100% Shiraz

Prefermentation technique:

1-3 days on skins pre fermentation before wild yeast start to ferment

Fermentation container:

Oak vats and stainless steel

Malolactic fermentation:

Yes

Fining agent:

Vegan

Type of aging container:

Puncheons

Age of aging container:

20 months

Type of oak:

French

Length of aging before bottling:

24 months