2015 marked our first year of exploration into Shiraz from the Hilltops region. Sourcing some great fruit from Brian Freeman, we released two Shiraz’, (creatively) labelled as No.1 and No.2 variants. This exercise was largely around experimentation in maturation periods, and oak regime. Particularly encouraged by the results of our No.2 release, we settled on a similar maturation plan for the 2016 wines, and reached deeper into the Hilltops region by engaging Jason Brown, from Moppity Vineyards, in addition to Brian Freeman. The differences in personality between our No.1 and No.2 releases would now be based on their single vineyard origins. The fruit from the Moppity vineyard was an explosion of colour and intensity from day one. The wine boasted incredibly vibrant aromatics throughout production and, like our Canberra Shiraz, we were eager to avoid producing an overtly fruity style. Maturation over 14 months, with 25% new French oak, served to temper the outright generosity of the wine;balancing the richness of fruit on offer, and building some impressive structure and drive.