Barossa Valley Shiraz Grenache Mataro 2018
Bin 138 draws its inspiration from the wines of Southern Rhône, where shiraz, grenache and mataro (mourvèdre) are blended in varying proportions to create full-bodied wines possessing rich and heady perfume. Each year fruit for Bin 138 is sourced from old Barossa Valley vines (some more than 100 years old) and then matured for 12 to 15 months in seasoned oak hogsheads to allow the different varietals to shine through. The first vintage release of this varietal blend was the 1992, labelled ‘Old Vine Barossa Valley’ – it was then elevated to Bin status with the 1998 vintage.
GRAPE VARIETY
68% Shiraz, 22% Grenache, 10% Mataro
VINEYARD REGION
Barossa Valley
WINE ANALYSIS
Alc/Vol: 14.5%, Acidity: 6.2 g/L, pH: 3.63
MATURATION
Seasoned French and American oak hogsheads

VINTAGE CONDITIONS
Autumn rainfall was below average, a trend that continued into early winter with only 25% of the long-term average achieved in June. The latter half of winter was wetter, with vines entering the growing season with very healthy moisture profiles. Temperatures were below average during winter, however it warmed substantially through spring boosting vine growth and rushing the vines through flowering. Spring conditions were dry early, followed by plentiful November rainfall which encouraged good, strong canopy development. Summer was dry, with no recorded major rain events. This carried into January with a heat spike around veraison causing vines to stall, pushing the start of vintage out by a week or so. The warm weather carried into autumn, setting up an Indian summer with favourable conditions for ripening grapes, and this coupled with dry conditions set up a high-quality vintage for all three varietals.

COLOUR
Bright garnet red
NOSE
Raspberry-leaf and pastille fruits (blackberry) jostle to the fore.
Barossa boot polish high-notes arise – ever so discretely!
Scents of delightfully appealing, almost pungent salty prosciutto/cassoulet/beef ragu/osso buco ... stock(s)?
A quince jelly and inky-berried aromatic sign-off at this early stage of bottle maturation. More to be revealed over time
PALATE
Juicy, dense and more-ish - a sophisticated varietal and regional matrix unfolds, stamped with Barossa integrity.
But, what from what? Best guess: ironstone – from shiraz and a continuum of fresh red and dark berried fruits from its grenache and mataro stablemates.
Super-fine tannins permeate across the palate, no doubt contributed by all three varieties. Background oak ever so distant.

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