Product Description:
A Clare Valley icon built from century-old vines and old-school precision.
Wendouree Shiraz 2022 is the latest chapter in one of Australia’s most storied wine narratives. Grown from vines planted as far back as 1893 by Alfred Percy Birks, this Shiraz is made by Tony and Lita Brady with unwavering focus on site expression and traditional technique. These low-yielding, dry-grown vines produce fruit of immense concentration, resulting in a wine that is as structured and cerebral as it is revered.
Fermented in open-top vats, basket-pressed, and matured in a third new French oak, this is not a wine of polish and instant gratification. It's sinewy, elemental, and built for the long haul. Wendouree Shiraz always wears its Clare Valley roots on its sleeve—ironstone, red loam, piercing acidity, and tension from front to back. This is Australian Shiraz made with minimal compromise and zero artifice.
2022 delivers a taut, athletic expression: wire-tight acidity, compact black fruit, and tannins that frame rather than dominate. It opens slowly, almost reluctantly, but those who wait will find a core of impressive purity and mineral structure. Expect decades of development in bottle.
Maker
Wendouree, crafted by Tony and Lita Brady, remains a true representation of its origins since the vines were first planted by Alfred Percy Birks in 1893. Considered by many as one of Australia's greatest Shirazes, this wine is made from low-yielding, beautifully formed old vines, many of which are from the original plantings. The vineyard is managed with low-input viticulture and the winemaking process is laissez-faire, allowing the wine to truly speak of its place. Wendouree wines are renowned for their exceptional quality and rich heritage, with the celebrated Wendouree Shiraz standing out as a true gem. This wine is derived from the estate's original 1893 plantings, believed to be genetic material from the original James Busby collection. Located on an easterly ridge towards the northern edge of the Clare Valley, the unirrigated Wendouree vineyards have shallow, meagre soils with red loam over limestone. The low-yielding old shiraz vines produce small berries with thick skins and a high seed content, resulting in a wine with exceptional depth and complexity. Despite its reputation and heritage, there are remarkably few older bottles of Wendouree wines in circulation. This can be attributed to the way the wines were sold until 1974, when they were sold in bulk and bottled and marketed by merchants, resulting in blended and single varietal shiraz wines being almost never seen. Wendouree wines are a testament to the quality of the vineyards and the winemakers' dedication to crafting exceptional wines. The Wendouree Shiraz, in particular, showcases the unique terroir of the Clare Valley and the heritage of the original James Busby collection, making it a true standout among Australian wines.
The Clare Valley wine region is located in South Australia and is known for producing exceptional Riesling wines, as well as other varietals such as Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Chardonnay. The region's vineyards are planted on shallow, meagre soils with red loam over limestone, contributing to the unique terroir of the wines. The climate is warm to hot in summers and cool in winters. The region is divided into five districts, each producing distinct wine styles. The Clare Valley has won countless international awards and is a must-visit destination for wine enthusiasts.
The Vineyard
The vineyard itself is the dominating factor in the quality of the wines. Established in 1892, some of the vines are now well over 100 years old. In one block, a plot of bush-trained Shiraz dates from 1892 and another from 1893, while a parcel of trellised Mataro (Mourvèdre) has been grafted onto vines dating from 1898. Further from the winery, in what is known as the eastern block, there’s more Shiraz planted in 1919 and 1920 and some Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec grafted over onto 1920s rootstock. The most recent plantings date from 1975 and the early 1980s. In all, there are 12 Ha of vines, a historical look into the Clare Valley viticultural past.
The vineyards are unirrigated and planted on mainly red loam over limestone. There’s also a block on shale and a parcel that has sandier loam. The elevation is at 450–530m at the eastern block but despite this, the harvest for reds is typically two weeks earlier at Wendouree than elsewhere in the Clare Valley. Yields turn around just less than 30hl/ha with an average alcohol of 13.5°.
The grapes are hand-harvested, basket pressed and fermentation takes place in open-top fermenters with hand plunging of the grape cap. The malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The wines are then aged in 300-litre fine-grain French oak barrels, 25% new, for a year. It's an old school approach meaning that the only concessions to the modern age, is an area small laboratory for analysis, stainless steel to line the fermenters and in tanks for blending, and a tiny bottling line. Blending is carried out after the barrel aging and the wines are bottled with just a light filter.
Tasting Notes
NOSE
– Deep and distinctive
Blackcurrant, blackberry and cherry layered with aniseed and vanilla nougat.
PALATE
– Tense and coiled
Medium-bodied with ironstone grip and a tensile structure; tannin is assertive yet balanced.
FINISH
– Bone-dry precision
Structured, mineral and slow-unfurling; built for the cellar but already compelling.
Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Shiraz
Country - Australia
Region - Clare Valley, South Australia
Vintage - 2022
ABV - Not stated
Bottle Size - 750ml
Closure - Screw Cap
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