2007 Terra Felix Shiraz Viognier.

Show awards to date:

One Silver and four Bronze medals. Rated 92 in the James Halliday Wine Companion 2009.

Terra Felix means ‘Lucky Country’.

Vintage 2007 wasn’t too lucky as it was first subjected to late frosts which wiped out nearly a third of our crop. Then there was the bush fires which fortunately were not close enough to us to cause smoke taint in the grapes. The year was exceptionally dry resulting in low yielding crops which produced fruit with outstanding flavor and intensity. The red varieties all exhibited deep colour, perfumed fruit and tannin development.

The Shiraz Viognier is building quite a reputation. The 2005 won ‘Wine of the Year’ in the Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide. The 2006 won medals in the Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Decanter International Wine Show and was described by MW Toni Paterson as, ‘a stunning wine’. The 2007 promises to be our best vintage yet.(see review)

Winemaker’s Notes:

Shiraz 95% Viognier 5%

Alcohol 14.1%

No fining, no allergens

Preservative 220 (sulphur dioxide)

Grapes sourced from Nagambie, Dookie and Lake Marmal

Tasting Notes:

Deep brick red colour with purple hues. Spice, pepper and floral apricot fragrance on the nose. The palate is a complex integration of crisp

Viognier, juicy Shiraz and vanillin American oak. The flavours combine to give the wine length and persistence. The depth and intensity are beautifully balanced producing a classic Aussie wine with a Rhône Valley imprint.

The important characters in a Shiraz Viognier are achieved during co-fermentation (as opposed to adding Viognier wine later). It is thought that Viognier grape skins carry a high component of co-factors which means that by combining them into a red fermentation the process of co-pigmentation occurs. It is like saying 1 + 1 = 3. Because the Viognier white grape skins contain co-factors they do not dilute the red colour and flavour in the Shiraz. Quite the opposite, they draw out additional colour and flavour than the Shiraz would have on its own and certainly more than you would expect when putting white skins into a red wine.