Shannon Black

Beef, Lamb, Veal

At Shannon Vineyards our focus on viticulture principles reflects our commitment to winemaking as an expression of terroir. Making fine wines is our ongoing aspiration and to that end we have assembled a talented team who share our passion. Our grapes come from exceptional mountain hillside vineyards above the banks of the Peninsula Dam in the Elgin Valley. These unique vineyard sites combined with the highly experienced viticultural team of Kevin Watt and James Downes and a winemaking philosophy of minimal intervention followed by the winemakers Gordon Johnson and Nadia Cilliers produce wines with distinctive personalities. Each wine has a sense of place. They are seductive and memorable for their complexity structure and elegance.

Each year one of the 5 aspects or clones of the Mount Bullet 3ha single vineyard shows unique characteristics of that particular vintage. If special enough it is nurtured further in the cellar and then an small amount has an extraordinary sovereign hand bottling, so to ensure that this classic expression is captured in bottle forever. The grapes are picked from a small 3 hectare vineyard. The vineyard is divided up into 5 different parcels each with its own respective clone. The soil, trellising and canopy management is constant through out the vineyard so it is the actual clonal characteristics that determine the different dates of harvest. Over the years we have learnt that there is as much as 11 – 14 days difference between picking the first clone to picking the last clone.

100% matured in barriques (225L) for approximately 22 months using 1 of 3 Bordeaux cooperages. The oak used is of a tighter grain and medium toasted. New oak – 50%, 2nd fill – 50%

The bunches are chilled to 3ºC before being sorted on a conveyor and destemmed. Berries are then hand sorted, before cold maceration ensues for 3 to 6 days at 8ºC. We try to naturally ferment 100% of the parcel of grapes making up the Shannon Black. Fermentation temperatures vary between 26 – 30ºC. After pressing, the wine is racked and left to complete its malolactic fermentation and maturation in oak barriques.