wine
1998 Benjamin’s Promise Shiraz- Cellar Release Ghost Wine
Production:
Picked March 12, 1998.
Single vineyard wine.
1.2 tonne picked @ 1.95 tonne to the acre.
Total production 62 cases
Colour:
Developed Brick meniscus over an intensely dark rich core.
Nose:
Plums and chocolate immediately assault the nose, layered over hints of menthol, boot leather cigar box a brooding feeling of age.
Palate:
Big plummy palate full of ripe stone fruit seamlessly layered over summer berries with boot leather, mushroom savory black tea and black strap liquorice. Great length and depth of flavour married together in a complex beautiful mouthful that persists and delights in only the way a well aged wine really can.
Purchase:
3 bottle case.
Philosophy:
The first wine… for me anyway! My brother Phil and I pretty much determined our future path’s in life once this wine was made. A mere two hogsheads were lovingly wrought from the single vineyard that has ever since formed the backbone of the Benjamin's Promise Shiraz. In 1998 we hand picked (with a little help from Jamie and Rolly- a couple of likely lads over from England doing a working holiday) just over two tonne of beautiful Shiraz grapes from a patch of struggling old vines. The vineyard we used has since gone into each release of the Benjamin’s Promise Shiraz. The yield in 1998 was around 2 tonne to the acre of intense black gems which were sent through the ‘Shed Red’ destemmer owned by Paul Lindner and Westy Cruickshank of Soul Growers fame. That little destemming crusher has seen a great many vintages, and even today still manages to have the odd parcel pass through it’s embrace. The grapes were open fermented in the “GGF” (lovingly known as the Great Green Fermenter) which I still use each vintage for my larrikin Blend. Each day, we’d jump into the fermenter and plunge the best way we knew how… by stomping around! After a couple of weeks on skins, the 1998 was basket pressed through a couple of tiny hand cranking presses and bucketed by hand into 2 brand new American Oak Hogs Heads to go through Malo. The ‘98 Benjamin’s spent 2 year in oak before bottling. Phil and I could never agree on exactly what to do with this wine so he’s lain un released in the cellar for ten years before finally seeing the light of day. Very unavailable and extremely drinkable. All the cellaring has been done for you!
