2017 Battle of Bosworth Puritan Shiraz - no added preservative

We had terrific winter and spring rains leading up to vintage 2017, a marked contrast to the previous year, proving once again if proof were needed, that every vintage is different. We had a cool early part to spring too, combined with the spring rain. Flowering was about 3 weeks later than the previous year which of course meant that vintage was 3 weeks later than normal, or as some old locals said sagely, back to the old normal. There was a very long and slow ripening period which is terrific for allowing grapes to develop their flavours. We had a pretty dry February March and April, once the spring rains finished in mid-January. Overall a late vintage with some incredibly promising reds and outstanding whites.

WINEMAKING

I used to call our Puritan a ‘Joven’ style red, a term which refers to young fresh red wines that come out of Rioja in Spain, which are made from Tempranillo. I think I might change now to what Tony Love, wine correspondent from the Adelaide Advertiser called in in a review of the 2017 Puritan in the Source (www.thesource.com on Wednesday 18th October 2017). He called the Puritan (and other similar types which he also reviewed) as ‘bright young things’. This description captures perfectly what the Puritan is all about. Shiraz is picked ripe and crushed then fermented in stainless steel vessels (no oak barrels are used in the making of this wine). Once through the sugar-to-alcohol fermentation, the wine goes ‘through malo’ (a secondary fermentation which changes malic acid to softer lactic acid) and then we bottle it. Bright, young, fresh, juicy and quite delicious.

TASTING NOTES

Puritan is bright, young fresh, juicy, full of dark and red fruits and plums and blackberries, too. Great colour, dark purple, giving big hints as to its youth, with a bright palate which some great texture and weight, and some lovely grippy tannins too. Do not pass go, open immediately and drink.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

(SKU: BB_Pur_17)