Made from selected rows of the Schoolhouse Block at Glenguin's Hunter Valley vineyard, this wine is made for pairing with good friends and great food. A lively expression of Hunter Valley Shiraz with bright, ripe red fruits at it's core and an undercurrent of spicy oak, layered with fine tannins and a long finish.

The warm and dry 2017 vintage allowed perfectly ripe fruit to be harvested. The red plum and black cherry aromas lead to a fruit driven and softly textured palate with background vanillin and spice from oak barrel maturation.

The Johannes family have recently purchased the Onikul Vineyard and renamed it the JohannesBurg Vineyard. This is a sentimental name as the family is of German heritage who were living in South Africa and have moved to Australia. Johannes - Family name;Burg - German for fortress/castleJohannesburg - City in South AfricaJohannesBurg - Family fortress to keep the family safe in Australia. The 2018 vintage was hot and dry and resulted in an early harvest with relatively low yields. The fruit for this Shiraz came from the eastern block on the southern side of the JohannesBurg Vineyard. It was machine harvested on the night of the 7th February from about 8 pm. This was the first vintage for the Johannes family and they worked through the night with Neil Stevens and Graeme Lewis to pick the fruit. The fruit was taken back to the winery on Wilderness Road and placed in the capable hands of the winemaker, Ashley Horner, and his two trusty sidekicks Michael and Callan. The fruit sat overnight before being cold soaked and crushed into open air fermenters. The fruit was extremely concentrated and had beautiful, vibrant colour. The ferment was closely monitored and was pumped over for 15-20 minutes morning and night. Once fermented, the wine was pressed off into two new French Oak Puncheons with the remaining going into 6 x older Saury French Oak barriques. The wine sat on oak for approximately 11 months and was bottled on 27 February, 2019.This Shiraz is very approachable now with cherries and raspberry flavours dominant on the nose and palate. It is quite an elegant wine with plenty of fresh fruit flavours balanced nicely with toasty oak.Limited Release of 260 Dozen.

The Leogate Estate Black Cluster Shiraz is made from grapes grown on our own 50-year-old historic Black Cluster Vineyard in the Hunter Valley.This single vineyard sits at the foothills of the Brokenback Mountain Range and the grapes are carefully selected from individuals old vine Shiraz blocks, then fermented and matured using a selection of new and older French and American oak barrels.This is a rich red wine displaying layers of red and blue fruits that are well complemented by the sweetness and structure from the oak barrels. The presence of fine tannins and spicey note contributes to the seamless palate, delvering a wine of greater character, intensity and balance.

These grapes were grown using Biodynamic practices and are Certified with the ACO. The wine was fermented naturally using wild yeast living in the vineyard. The wine was basket pressed and matured in small oak barrels for 12 months. The wine exhibits a ripe berry bouquet with a hint of white pepper on the palate. This wine will become well integrated and more complex with extended cellaring.

Region Australia Tasting Notes Traditional wine making techniques and new and old oak has created a medium bodied Australian Merlot showing great depth of cherry and plum flavours, with velvety tannins and a soft lingering finish. Analysis Alcohol: 14.0% pH: 3.64 TA: 5.6