Battles Shiraz 2024

Who: Battles Wine
Where: Perth Hills & Geographe, Western Australia
What: Shiraz

The Christos vineyard is one of the most exceptional sites of the Perth Hills; made of granite and clay soils, with rolling hills. The Berrecas Vineyard in Donnybrook (Geographe) is planted on an east-facing slope, with gravelly loam soils. The block has good elevation further aiding to lower day time temperatures. Across both parcels, a high percentage of whole berries were retained. Only a small portion of new barrels (one 500L puncheon) to keep a focus on the fruit vibrancy. Bottled after 9 months in barrel.

Certainly not the first regions which jump to people’s minds when thinking of top quality Shiraz, but it goes to show what hidden gems can be found.

“On the nose, the wine shows an abundance of sweet dark fruit: raspberry and mulberry, scraped vanilla pod and dark chocolate. In the mouth, the wine is silky and supple, with a flow of silty tannins that shape the fruit through the finish.” – Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate (96 points) – 2023 vintage