Dandelion Vineyards "Lionheart of the Barossa" Shiraz Barossa Valley 2022

WINERY NOTES:

Lionheart Shiraz is aptly named after Barossa’s lifelong champion of old vines and Dandelion’s co-founder, Carl Lindner. This wine has always been about getting at the essence of old-school Barossa but with a new-wave edge (in other words, generous fruit meets great natural acidity, hands-off winemaking, and no fining or filtering). In 2022, the vineyard changed to the Kincora Vineyard on Seppeltsfield Road. The 2022 vintage was a tough one marked by challenging weather conditions, including the wettest winter since 1996, isolated frost, and severe hailstorms in spring and late summer. Still, the fruit that remained on the vine was exceptional, and cooler temps meant grapes could ripen well into fall. In the first week of April whole bunches of Shiraz were hand harvested, then gently crushed and naturally fermented in open fermenters for seven days, hand plunged twice a day, before careful basket pressing into old French oak (30%) and stainless-steel tanks (70%). After 18 months of maturation, the wine was bottled without filtration or fining and just a small dosage of sulfur. \

Intensely deep and vibrant violet-purple. Textured and grainy. The nose unfolds with dark chocolate aromatics, complemented by a delicate bouquet of soy, lavender, pink peppercorns, rosemary, and the earthy scent of rain-soaked eucalyptus bark. On the palate, it’s plush with ripe berry flavors, carried by sweeping, tide-like tannins.

SOILS: Alluvial wash with grey loam over ironstone rich clay

VINEYARD: Kincora Vineyard

VINE AGE: 30 years

HARVEST: First week of April

FERMENTATION: 100% whole cluster, 7 days skin contact

AGING 18 months in used French oak (30%) and stainless steel (70%)