Vintage conditions The 2019 growing season was a challenging one from the start with a very dry winter and spring with frost events in September disrupting budburst. Windy conditions affected flowering and further frost episodes and hail in November caused further challenges. Very hot and dry conditions during summer and lack of rain resulted in small berries and low bunch weights resulting in the lowest yields in recent decades. The resultant wines have great colour, intense flavours and firm tannins. Vineyard selection The “Home Block” Shiraz was exclusively sourced from our estate-grown Block 3A Shiraz vines planted in 1994. Winemaking Once the grapes have been identified to be of optimum maturation and flavour ripeness, the parcels are brought into the winery where they are destemmed and crushed into the open top fermenters. Manual pump overs are conducted twice daily to provide extraction of colour, flavour and tannins. Towards the end of fermentation, the wine is drained and then pressed to a combination of predominately new French oak barrels for 19 months maturation. Careful barrel selection takes place before the wine is blended. The wine is neither fined nor filtered. Tasting Evaluation Colour: Dark purple, with almost black core. Aroma: Intense bouquet of dark plum, black cherry, espresso, with mocha notes. Vanilla pod and gingernut biscuit hide in the background. Palate: Saturated palate of dark berries, savoury French oak spice complimented with fine grain tannins. Vibrant red apple acidity provides focus and length.

The nameThe name JDR is a tribute to the original owner of the Hemera Estate winery; Joseph Darius Ross. The best Shiraz of the year is selected to carry his name.Vintage conditionsThe 2014 vintage saw very low rainfall in the winter and spring leading up to fruit ripening. This resulted in small berry and bunch formation and the commencement of vintage earlier than average. The smaller berries produced intense flavours in all varieties and excellent juice to skin ratios in reds. The resultant wines have pure varietal flavours with excellent mouth-feel and length to the palate.Vineyard selectionEach vintage, the best sections of the Hemera Estate Shiraz vineyards and a selected growers Barossa Valley Shiraz are identified to have the power and intensity of flavours and tannins to be worthy of the JDR label. Careful vineyard management and bunch selection ensure only pristine fruit makes the grade.WinemakingOnce the grapes have been identified to be of optimum maturation and flavour ripeness, the parcels are brought into the winery where they are destemmed and crushed into the open-topped fermenters. Manual pump-overs are conducted twice daily to provide extraction of colour, flavour and tannins. Towards the end of fermentation, the wine is drained and then pressed to a combination of predominately new French/American oak barrels for 20 months of maturation. Careful barrel selection takes place before the wine is blended.Tasting EvaluationThis wine is crafted to provide complexity, structure and vibrancy, whilst still retaining the elegance for which Hemera Estate wines are renowned. The nose displays spiced, toasty oak merging with the pristine flavours of plums, blueberry and liquorice. The new oak tannins provide backbone to the palate yet are still rich and silky and compliment the fruit cake, forest berries and dark chocolate flavours.Technical notesVarietal composition: 100% ShirazRegion (GI): Barossa ValleyWinemaker: Alex MacClellandAlcohol : 14.5% alc/vol

Vintage Conditions: The 2020 growing season was dry with winter and spring rains being well below average. Flowering unfortunately was interrupted with frosts and very strong winds, coupled with very cold nights. December was hot and dry with 11 days over 35C and 8 days over 40C. As a result, bunch size was below average with smaller than normal berry size. A mild February with approximately 20mm of rain on 1st February slowed down phenological ripening allowing us to hang the grapes to ensure full flavour ripeness, whilst retaining natural acidity. Yields across the board were down between 50-80% depending on the vineyard. Wines produced, have saturated colours, intense aromatics and great flavour concentration and length. Overall an exceptional year! Vineyard Selection: This is Hemera Estate’s entry-level Shiraz, sourced from our seven blocks of Shiraz comprising a selection of clones across varying elevations, row orientations and soil types aged up to 27 years old. Winemaking: Each parcel of Shiraz is picked at optimal ripeness to display rich varietal characters. The fruit is crushed into open-topped fermenters and twice-daily pump-overs provide soft extraction of colour, flavour and tannin from the grape skins. At the conclusion of fermentation, the wine is pressed into and matured in a combination of new (30%) and seasoned (70%) French and American oak hogsheads for 16 months before blending and bottling. This wine is neither filtered nor fined. Tasting Evaluation: Colour: Garnet with a dark core and pale rim. Aroma: Brooding nose of blue & Black fruits. Wafts of mocha, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla pod and desiccated coconut. Aromatic memories of a lamington. Palate: Mouth filling, textural, dense fruit sweetness of dark plum, black cherry and black currant complimented with a savoury mocha and dark chocolate notes. Powdery fruit/oak tannins delicately wrap the sweet fruit core. Red apple skin acidity adds freshness.

Vintage conditions2017 vintage was set by a near-perfect growing season with a long-awaited wet winter and rainfall well above the long-term average. One of the wettest spring seasons on record minimised the risk of frost damage. Cooler than average spring and summer temperatures ensured a long, slow growing season and allowed intense flavour development and retention of natural grape acidity. Harvest was two weeks later than normal as a result of late January and early February rainfall.Vineyard selectionThe Shiraz is sourced from a selection of premium vineyards located in the northern Barossa Valley.WinemakingOnce the grapes have been identified to be of optimum maturation and flavour ripeness, the parcels are brought into the winery where they are destemmed and crushed into the open-topped fermenters. Manual pump-overs are conducted twice daily to provide extraction of colour, flavour and tannins. Towards the end of fermentation, the wine is drained and then pressed to a combination of predominately new French and American oak barrels for 17 months maturation. Careful barrel selection takes place before the wine is blended. The wine is neither fined, nor filtered.Tasting EvaluationColour: Typical 2017 colour of dark purple verging on black core with crimson rim.Aroma: Perfumed aromas of violets and blue lilies complimented with red cherry, dried cranberry, fig, green tobacco and sage. Subtle notes of camphor and sandalwood with some wafts of mocha appear upon subsequent swirling.Palate: Saturated red and blue fruits coat the surfaces of the palate. The acid line gives freshness and vibrancy. The fruit intensity has all but absorbed the 80% new oak barrels that were used in its production with an almost silky tannin finish.

Vintage Conditions2017 vintage was set by a near-perfect growing season with a long-awaited wet winter and rainfall well above the long-term average. One of the wettest spring seasons on record minimised the risk of frost damage. Cooler than average spring and summer temperatures ensured a long, slow growing season and allowed intense flavour development and retention of natural grape acidity. Harvest was two weeks later than normal as a result of late January and early February rainfall.Vineyard Selection The Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from a selection of parcels from Block 1A and Block 5 of from our estate vineyard.Winemaking Once the grapes have been identified to be of optimum maturation and flavour ripeness, the parcels are brought into the winery where they are destemmed and crushed into the open-topped fermenters. Manual pump-overs are conducted twice daily to provide extraction of colour, flavour and tannin. Towards the end of fermentation, the wine is drained and then pressed to a combination of 58% new French and American oak barrels for 20 months maturation. Careful barrel selection takes place before the wine is blended. The wine is neither fined, nor filtered. Tasting EvaluationColour: Concentrated purple-black core with a ruby rim.Aroma: Perfumed varietal Cabernet aromas of blackcurrant, black olive and cassis with further layers of choc mint and rare roast lamb. Subtle oak spice appears with a further swirling of the glass.Palate: Fleshy mid-palate of black plum, black cherry, Black forest cake, cocoa and raspberry liquorice are framed with dusty, mouth-coating tannins. Fresh red apple skin acidity creates focus and direction.Technical NotesVarietal composition: 100% Cabernet SauvignonRegion (GI): Barossa Valley Winemaker: Jason BarretteAlcohol: 14.1% alc/volpH: 3.56TA: 6.5g/LResidual Sugar: 0.55g/LBottled: 19 February 2019

The limited release philosophyHemera Estates Limited Release collection enables us to showcase the most unique wines of the vintage, whether it be fruit from a specific block within our vineyard, or a distinctive parcel or variety that has proven itself to be outstanding. This collection enables us to bring to you in their purest form the wines that have most excited us in the winery.Vintage conditions2017 vintage was set by a near-perfect growing season with a long-awaited wet winter and rainfall well above the long-term average. One of the wettest spring seasons on record minimised the risk of frost damage. Cooler than average spring and summer temperatures ensured a long, slow growing season and allowed intense flavour development and retention of natural grape acidity. Harvest was two weeks later than normal as a result of late January and early February rainfall.Vineyard selectionThe Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from the world-famous Katnook Estate vineyard in the Coonawarra wine region.Winemaking Once the grapes have been identified to be of optimum maturation and flavour ripeness, the parcels are brought into the winery where they are destemmed and crushed into the open-topped fermenters. Manual pump-overs are conducted twice daily to provide extraction of colour, flavour and tannin. Towards the end of fermentation, the wine is drained and then pressed to a combination of 77% new French oak barrels for 17 months of maturation. Careful barrel selection takes place before the wine is blended. The wine is neither fined, nor filtered.Tasting EvaluationColour: Deep, dark purple verging on black core with a crimson rim.Aroma: Intense aromas of black olive, black currant, dark plum, graphite, dark chocolate awakens the senses. Wafts of sizzling bacon fat, hints of subtle bay leaf and cedar oak spice are released as the wine warms up in the glass.Palate: Red currant, rhubarb and dark plum flavours dominate. Fleshy mid-palate considering the 100% Cabernet fruit. Zingy acidity as you would expect from a wine over 13% alcohol. Dusty, verging on chalky tannins. None of the typical Coonawarra capsicum/bell pepper or Eucalyptus that might be expected from the 2017 vintage. Technical notesVarietal composition : 100% Cabernet SauvignonRegion (GI) : Coonwarra Winemaker : Jason BarretteAlcohol : 13.2% alc/volpH : 3.47TA : 6.2g/LResidual Sugar : 0.17g/LBottled : 19 October 2018

Grenache was hand-picked specifically for the production of rose. The fruit was crushed and macerated for 2 hours to increase colour pick-up as well as some natural fruit tannin. The must was then gently pressed to liberate the juice, and then 80% was fermented in stainless steel at cool temperatures to retain delicate fruit aromas. The balance was drained to old oak hogsheads where the juice underwent a natural fermentation and subsequent maturation on full lees for 5 months before blending and bottlingTasting EvaluationColour: Bright, pale salmon with copper highlights.Aroma: Subtle scents of cantaloupe, red currant, wild strawberry, Morello cherry and freshly grated ginger, pink peppercorn coupled with underlying gunflint aroma.Palate: Red apple skin, ruby grapefruit and rhubarb flavours abound with textural fruit sweetness, balanced with fine fruit phenolics with crunchy apple acid focus. The finish is dry and refreshing. Enjoy with fresh South Australia seafood or on its own.