CALABRIA THREE BRIDGES SHIRAZ 2022

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"The grapes for Three Bridges Shiraz are from a blend of the family's and growers fruit from 40-50 year old vines from the Barossa Valley. Vineyard sources stretch from Nuriootpa, to Vine Vale, ranging from red brown earth to sandy loam soil types.

Aromas include red berries, plums and black cherry fruits, with mocha and spicy oak aromas. Rich palate of ripe plums and black fruits, intertwined with spicy french oak tannins, providing length and powerful structure.

The fruit is hand-picked from low-yielding, 40 – 50 year old vines, with all harvesting overseen by Bill Calabria. The parcels are transported to Calabria wines in the Riverina and immediately the fruit is crushed and de-stemmed on-site, carefully leaving most berries intact. Fermentation on skins occurs for 7 days before being pressed to tank to complete primary ferment on French oak stave. Upon completion of primary fermentation, a portion of the wine is then racked into oak for malolactic fermentation while the other portion undertook secondary fermentation in stainless-steel before being racked into French oak Foudres (2,500 L barrels) for maturation up to 9 months before blending and filtration. The large format oak helps to preserve bright berry characters and produce a wine with a familiar Barossa fruit profile, modernised with an elegant European direction."

Reviews for previous vintages below…

Ned Goodwin MW, James Halliday's Wine Companion, August 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Another Barossan wine of this tier that is deft on its feet. Fresher and more transparent than the regional norm. For the better. The tannins, gentle, attesting to the large portion of whole berries in the ferment. The oak, high-class French. Nicely worked. Sweet cherry, Ribena, violet and clove. Some mocha oak tucks in the seams. A bit sweet. A bit tangy."

Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, May 2021 (2019 Vintage)
"Sweet ripe fruit, good energy, slips of vanilla and toast but it mostly tastes of red liquorice, blackberry, coal and dark chocolate. I like the freshness here, the straightforward drinkability, the unabashed sweetness of Barossa shiraz fruit."