Vinification
The grapes were hand picked in mid-March and transported to the Kooyong Winery in the Mornington Pensinsula where Alberto Antonini and Sandro Mosele, winemaker at Kooyong, worked on the vinification together. The grapes underwent a natural cold soak and were fermented with natural yeasts. Maceration lasted 2 weeks in open top fermenters. The cap was punched down by hand to extract good colour and ripe tannins. After fermentation, the wine was aged for 18 months in French barriques, of which 20% was new oak.

Tasting Notes
The 2006 Shiraz combines the elegance of mid-Victorian Shiraz with the depth and weight that characterise wines from Heathcote. It spent longer in oak than the previous vintage to lift the perfumes, resulting in a lovely ripe, brambly spicy fruit on the nose. On the palate, the rich, dark plum fruit is weightier than the 2005 but still balanced by the supple, fine-grained tannins and a lifted acidity on the finish. It is long and elegant on the finish.