Hotel Mclaren

Fifteen Barrels Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Harvest Vintage: 2003
Label: Tapestry
Alcohol: 14.0 %
Vineyards: 100% McLaren Vale, including our Bakers Gully
vineyards, and selected fruit from Bosworth’s Willunga
vineyard.
Winemaking/Viticulture: Individual fruit batches were
fermented and matured separately. Maturation was in
100 % premium French oak hogsheads and barriques for 24
months after which the best 15 barrels were hand selected
and blended together.
Hue: Deep red / brick red.
Aroma: Concentrated, minty, smoky eucalyptus with
complexing coffee and bacon.
Palate: Full bodied, sweet plums, chocolate, coffee and
fi ne, dusty oak tannins. Firm, full bodied fi nish.
Cellaring: Bottle maturation for up to 10 years. Decant
before serving.

Coates McLaren Vale Shiraz 2003

The first release for Coates Wines, the 2003 Organically Grown McLaren Vale Shiraz, has recently found its way out into the marketplace. The wine was originally conceived as a test bed for new ideas and winemaking styles. At the time as I didn’t feel comfortable applying unconventional philosophies to wines made for other brands on a consultancy basis. What was intended as a single barrique for personal consumption ended up becoming 11 in 2003, 15 in 2004 and 30 in 2005.

The idea in winemaking style has been to craft wines that blend the best in Australian and European winemaking styles, to bridge the gap between the fruit-driven Australian style and the savoury, complex wines of Old World Europe. The 2003 Coates Shiraz is unmistakably Australian, Shiraz and McLaren Vale. But I do feel an extra dimension of personality can be found when compared to many of fruit and oak bombs that are presently popular in the marketplace.

Winemaking
In making this wine, organically grown Shiraz (NASAA Certification 5017) from the Strachan vineyard in the Willunga foothills has been fermented on skins for 10 days in open concrete fermenters with the partial use of wild yeasts to enhance flavour complexity. Maturation in 20% new Russian and old French oak compliments the natural flavours of McLaren Vale Shiraz whilst allowing the wine to develop roundness and soften over 18 months. The tight-grained Russian oak imparts desirable structural characters without dominating the fruit. A single racking and regular topping are the only time the wine is disturbed post malo. Bottling date is determined when the tannin and oak balance feel right, with a further 6 months spent in bottle prior to release. The traditional, minimalist approach used to make the 2003 McLaren Vale Shiraz precludes the use of the additives and fining agents such as tannins, enzymes, egg, fish or milk products (this wine is Vegan friendly). The Coates Shiraz is made to preserve vineyard, regional and varietal characters.

The Winemaker
Duane Coates has expanded his winemaking training with vintages in Burgundy with Chateau Demessey, the Rhone Valley with Domaine Francois Villard and the Douro Valley with the Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s). Exposure to European wines and winemaking has given Duane a broad perspective on techniques and wines styles. His consultancy business, Free Run Wine Consulting, makes wine for the Anvers, Cleggett, Byrne & Smith, Hans Heysen and Karatta brands. Duane holds a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Oenology from Adelaide University and sat the MW exams for the first time in 2005, completing the theory component of his Masters of Wine.

Tasting Notes
An inky crimson red in colour. The lifted, perfumed aroma provides an intense array of complex dark summer fruits and black spices in the company of savoury oak. This full-bodied Shiraz delivers a plush weight on the palate with impressive depth of flavour and a long, persistent finish backed by a soft, velvety tannin backbone. Drink now to 2012.

Duane Coates BSc MSc (Oen) MBA
Winemaker