HUNDRED ACRE 04 SZ ANCIENT WAY
Another wine destined for greatness! Our friend Jason Woodbridge (Hundred Acre “Kayli-Morgan” Cab) surprised us with his latest project .....a Single Vineyard Shiraz from Australia's Barossa Valley. The vineyard was planted by the top viticulturalist in Australia while he worked for Penfold’s. He selected the very best cuttings from Grange’s core vineyard blocks to create this unique site. The soil is true “Terra Rosa” meaning red soil over fractured limestone, this rare soil sequence allows Hundred Acre to produce a Shiraz like no other ever made down under. The vineyard yield in 2004 was a mere 0.8 tons per acre. The wine is unmistakably Hundred Acre; Powerful, elegant, complex, packed with concentrated black fruit and layer upon layer of subtle spice, mocha and smoke nuances. This wine bears more resemblance to it’s sister wine than it does to any other Shiraz made before. With the Kayli-Morgan Cab and the Ancient Way Shiraz side-by-side, the stylistic similarities are striking, one with nuances of Napa Cab, the other of Barossa Shiraz…both are without question among the finest wines made in the world. For Jayson Woodbridge, his winemaking style could be deemed as very “hands on”, each step from hand picking the vineyards in numerous passes, hand sorting the fruit berry by berry, the forest and age of wood carefully selected and measured prior to barrels being made. Everything hand crafted, hand pruned, scrutinized and aligned for his desired response, near critical perfection and some of the finest wine we've tasteed. A rare and exceptional beauty. Only 600 cases were made!
