I have to confess that I loved those big inky, hedonistic red monsters that came from the land down under the 1990’s. All fruit & alcohol with minimal tannic structure & acidity was the not so secret formula! I still occasionally long for those Aussie bruisers & today’s Australian viticulture has evolved to create their classic Shiraz profile but with more complexity & nuance.

 When the Clarke family discovered gold in 1870 at the Lady Alice mine in the Barossa goldfields, so began a family dynasty intrigued by geology. That interest in terroir continues today & Shotfire is a homage to the shotfirer’s hazardous job of setting & lighting the dynamite charges in the mines back in the day.

During recent uneven vintages winemaker Peter Kelly would blend Cabernet Sauvignon with Shiraz but in the 2021 vintage the harvest provided both high quality & big yields to create a 100% Shiraz. The dense body, texture, & inky red color hasn’t gone away but the judicious use of oak brings out nuances of blackberries, baking spices, chocolate, & plums!