John Duval Wines

John Duval Wines Entity Shiraz 2020 (RRP $55 WM $46.90)

$46.90

REGION: Barossa

VARIETIES: Shiraz 100%, sourced from old vineyards in the Krondorf, Eden Valley Light Pass and Ebenezer regions.

WINEMAKING: Fermentation with submerged cap and small open stainless steel fermenters.

OAK MATURATION: 100% barrel matured for 15 months, with 35% new fine grain French oak hogsheads (300 litres) and the balance in 2, 3 and 4 year old hogsheads.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Alcohol 14.5%
pH 3.51
TA 6.30 g/l

STYLE: My aim with Entity is to produce an elegant Shiraz true to the Barossa. The 2016 Entity again includes Eden Valley Shiraz to help maintain the elegance and style of Entity. Traditional, low intervention winemaking techniques were employed with Entity, allowing the wine to be approachable in its youth, but with ample structure and fruit depth to allow great potential for improvement in the bottle under good cellaring conditions, for at least 10- 12 years.

VINTAGE: The 2020 vintage started with a warmer than usual spring followed by early, but even, flowering and fruit-set. Frost, particularly in the Northern Barossa reduced yields however the conditions during fruit ripening were pleasingly mild and dry with rain in mid-January brining some welcome relief. Shiraz was first picked in the Krondorf area on 12 February and finished on 17 March in Eden Valley.

TASTING:

Colour: Deep purple red.

Nose: Lifted notes of violets, dark berries and plum, enhanced by cocoa powder and savoury, spicy French oak.

Palate: Rich yet tightly packed with an array of concentrated dark fruits. The layered fruit is supported by enlivening acidity and fine, very long tannins which will enable ample cellaring potential.

John Duval

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John Duval Wines Eligo Shiraz 2018 (RRP $130 WM $109.90)

$96.90 $109.90

REGION: Barossa

VARIETIES: Shiraz 100%. Eligo represents the best of my 2018 vintage and is sourced from some excellent Shiraz vineyards in the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley regions.

WINEMAKING: Fermentation with submerged cap in small stainless steel fermenters. Some batches had up to 2 weeks on skins.

OAK MATURATION: 100% barrel matured for 20 months with 60% new fine grain French oak hogsheads (300 litre) and the balance 2 and 3 year old hogsheads.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Alcohol 14.5%
pH 3.54
TA 6.40 g/l

STYLE: My aim with Eligo is to produce a structured but elegant expression of Barossa Shiraz. A wine with restrained power, rich texture and palate length. Eligo is a vineyard selection of the best, low yielding parcels of exceptional fruit that I find during the vintage.

VINTAGE: After good winter and early spring rains the soil profiles were generally full, but a combination of a windy spring with northern Barossa frosts did dramatically reduce the production for some vineyards. A dry late spring and hot start to summer was brought to a halt on Valentine’s day by significant rain and then cooler conditions for the remainder of vintage. These cooler conditions provided an extended ripening period and allowed excellent flavour to build.

Tasting:

Colour: Deep purple red.

Nose: Lifted black plum, blackberry and blueberry with hints of earth, anise and spicy, savoury oak.

Palate: Elegant expression of rich dark fruits with some earthy savouriness and smoked meat flavours. Long and intense with excellent fruit purity and freshness, finishing with a taut backbone and persistent fine tannin structure.

John Duval

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John Duval Wines Plexus Shiraz Grenache Mourvèdre 2020 (RRP $40 WM $34.90)

$34.90

REGION: Barossa Valley

VARIETIES: Shiraz 52%, Grenache 32%, Mourvèdre 16%

The Shiraz was sourced from old vineyards in the Krondorf and Ebenezer districts, Grenache from the Tanunda, Ebenezer and Eden Valley regions and Mourvèdre from the Light Pass and Ebenezer regions.

WINEMAKING: Fermentation with submerged cap and small open stainless steel fermenters.

OAK MATURATION: 100% barrel maturated for 15 months, with just 10% new fine grain French oak hogsheads (300 litre barrels); with the balance 3-6 year old barrels.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Alcohol 14.5%
pH 3.53
TA 6.06 g/l

STYLE: My aim with Plexus is to express the wide spectrum of red fruit flavours from Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre and also provide structure with a seamless balance and long finish. Traditional, low intervention winemaking techniques are employed with Plexus, allowing the wine to be approachable in its youth, but also have a medium to long term cellaring potential for 8-10 years.

VINTAGE: The 2018 vintage started with a warmer than usual spring followed by early, but even, flowering and fruit-set. Frost, particularly in the Northern Barossa reduced yields however the conditions during fruit ripening were pleasingly mild and dry with rain in mid-January brining some welcome relief.

TASTING:

Colour: Vibrant purple with deep red hues

Nose: Dark berries and bramble with a dusting of spices, licorice and dried herbs

Palate: Medium bodied with a generous core of ripe black berries and supporting red fruits. Ample structure provided by fine grainy tannins with a long spicy finish

John Duval

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John Duval Wines Annexus Grenache 2017 (RRP $70 WM $53.90)

$53.90

REGION: Barossa

VARIETIES: Annexus Grenache was sourced from two very old low yielding Barossa Vineyards, one ancestor vineyard over 150 years old and the other old vines from the Northern Barossa Valley.

WINEMAKING: Fermentation in small open top fermenters incorporating a small amount of whole bunches.

OAK MATURATION: 100% barrel maturated for 12 months, in older French oak hogsheads (300 litre barrels).

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Alcohol 14.0%
pH 3.48
TA 6.1 g/l

STYLE: The inspiration from the Barossa’s best old vine Grenache vineyards created Annexus, an addition to our Plexus blend. Annexus is a small unique blend selected from our best old low yielding Grenache vineyards, made only in the best years.

VINTAGE: The 2017 vintage started with a warmer than usual spring followed by early, but even, flowering and fruit-set. Frost, particularly in the Northern Barossa reduced yields however the conditions during fruit ripening were pleasingly mild and dry with rain in mid-January bringing some welcome relief. Grenache was picked on 16th from the Northern Barossa and the 25th of March from Eden Valley.

TASTING:

Colour: Bright purple red.

Nose: Vibrant red fruit aromatics complexed by red roses and savoury spice.

Palate: Fine and long, delicate yet carrying impressive purity and flavour intensity. An array of ripe red fruits, dark cherry and raspberry fill the palate finishing with hints of clove, dusty earth and velvety tannins

John Duval

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John Duval Wines Plexus Marsanne Roussanne Viognier 2021 (RRP $30 WM $26.90)

$26.90

REGION: Barossa

VARIETIES: Marsanne 50%, Roussanne 42% Viognier 8%

Marsanne was sourced from the Marananga region, Roussanne from the Kalimna region and Viognier from Eden Valley.

WINEMAKING: Gentle pressings were combined with free run juice and cold settled.

Fermentation commenced in stainless steel but some of the Marsanne and Viognier finished fermentation in and was aged in barrel until bottled in late August. The remaining Marsanne and the Roussanne was aged on lees in tank until bottling, to enhance the structure and texture of the wine.

OAK MATURATION: 50% aged in fine grain French oak (with only 10% new oak) for 6 months

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Alcohol 12.5%
pH 3.29
TA 5.58g/l

STYLE: My aim with Plexus MVR is to promote a vibrant expression of fruit aromas from the interaction of the three varieties; and on the palate, to build structure and texture, rather than just acid crispness.

VINTAGE: The growing season was characterised by low winter and spring rainfall, which was followed by a hot spell in mid-December. The warm weather continued through January, and was thankfully broken by almost 40mm of rain in late January early February. The timing of this rain was perfect, particularly for a lot of our dry grown vines. Following the rain, the balance of the ripening season comprised warm days, but slightly cooler than average night temperatures, helping the vines to cope with the warm conditions. This February weather was fantastic with Marsanne harvested on Monday 8 February closely followed by Roussanne and Viognier later in March.

TASTING:

Colour: Attractive pale straw

Nose: Aromas of stone fruits, honeysuckle and dried apricot.

Palate: Medium bodied with good texture, dry finish and balanced acidity. Flavours of nectarine, mandarin and pear make for good food pairings with seafood and white meats.

John Duval

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