MOUNTADAM VINEYARDS HIGH EDEN PATRIARCH SHIRAZ

Tasting notes:

Vibrant red colour with a subtle tinge of purple. Initial aromas are of delicate perfume and peppery spice typical of superior cool climate Shiraz aged in top quality French oak. The palate has a smooth velvety tannin structure, compelling firmness and tremendous depth of red fruit flavour, with dark plum, cherry and black berry characters predominant as a young wine.

About the wine:

The Patriarch 2016 was aged for 14 months in French oak barrels, and is a blend of Shiraz and Grenache grapes. This wine has earned critical acclaim from some respected wine publications, and was awarded a gold medal at the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

About the producer:

Established in 1972 as one of Australia's pioneer Chardonnay producers, Mountadam was founded by the late David Wynn, without question one of the most significant contributors to the Australian wine industry and an important part of the Mountadam story.

Amongst his many achievements, David Wynn is credited with the invention of the wine cask; he founded Wynn's Coonawarra Estate and transformed Coonawarra reds during the 1960s and '70s.

In selecting the land for the Mountadam vineyard, Wynn was the first to recognise the potential of a cool, elevated site to produce wines of great elegance and structure, chosing an area high above the Eden Valley, which he named High Eden. At 550m above sea level, Mountadam is in fact the most elevated vineyard in South Australia.

Current owner David Brown bought the estate in 2006 and one of many significant investments included the instalment of Con Moshos as head winemaker, following a distinguished 23-year career making fine wines at Petaluma. The Eden Valley wines are gently made and lean towards cool climate, old world charm, the Barossa valley wines veer more towards new world generosity and roundness.