Circa Centum
2018 Shiraz
Only 2000 bottles produced

2018 Circa Centum Shiraz

Circa Centum- “Approximately One Hundred”

Wally and Daphne Krieg were the last of the Krieg Family to care for the family farm on the corner of Krieg and Gods Hill Road in Lyndoch.

The property, a mixture of sheep, grain and grapes provided for the Krieg family for over 150 years. Vineyard covered approximately 20 acres and much of it was planted by Wally and Daphne’s father during the 1920’s and 1930’s.

These days the property is in the safe hands of Jeff Semmler and his boys Zac and Corben.

In the north western corner of this vineyard, on a patch of rich red brown dirt over a clay base, grow 10 rows of cane pruned Shiraz planted in the 1920s.

Harvesting of these 10 rows took place on the 5th March 2018. 10% of the grapes were shovelled into the base of the fermenter as whole bunches, with the remainder of the grapes destemmed and transferred as whole berries on top of the whole bunches.

Fermentation took place over 6 days with juice pumped over the skins for 20 minutes twice daily, the temperature maintained between 20-25C degrees.

Day 7 saw us run the wine away from skins to tank and shovel the grape skins, whole berries and whole bunches into the basket presses and press to the same tank.

Day 8 the wine was transferred to barrel to complete its second fermentation of malic acid to lactic acid, where the wine fizzed away gently for the next month.

Once malo-lactic fermentation was complete, all barrels were transferred (lightly racked) to tank. The next day the wine was returned to the same oak barrels and left to mature.

Every 2 months during the next 19 months the barrels were topped and tasted to select the 5 most flavoursome and better structured barrels for our Circa Centum blend.

In October 2019 the 5 chosen hogsheads were transferred to tank and prepared for bottling.

Our 2018 Circa Centum Shiraz offers generous mouth filling fruit flavours, spicy oak and fullness, with the acidity and tannin structure to mature and complex in bottle for many years.

We trust you’ll enjoy it!

Winemaker:	Wayne Dutschke
Vineyard:	Wally and Daphne Krieg’s “Wally’s Block”, Corner Krieg Road and Gods Hill Road, Lyndoch
Vineyard Block:	10 western rows of 1920’s Shiraz
Region:	Lyndoch, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Harvest date:	Handpicked on the 5th of March, 2018 @ 14.9 Be
Fermentation:	Fermented in open fermenters with twice daily pump overs
Pressing:	Basket-pressed, with free run and pressings going firstly to tank and then transferred to French and American oak hogsheads the following day
Alcohol:	14.5%
Oak maturation:	19 months in 4 French and 1 American oak 300 litre hogsheads
Bottling date:	November 2019, 2,000 bottles only
Cellaring potential:	A generously mouth filling wine enjoyable while young, but will benefit from further cellaring for fruit and oak to integrate, complex and mature gracefully. Medium to long term (5–15 years) cellaring

Reviews

96 points, James Halliday Wine Companion 2022

Hand picked shiraz from a single vineyard on God’s Hill Road, Lyndoch, planted in the 1920s. The second time Dutschke has bottled this vineyard separately (the first was in 2008) and it’s plain to see why. The exotic spice of these near-100yo vines is highlighted by the triumphant red/blackberry, cherry and plum fruit exuberance of the great 2018 season. Dutschke has captured this spectacle to a level of detail that only he can do, fresh, crunchy and lively, propelled eloquently by fine-grained tannins and luscious, high-cocoa dark chocolate oak. To the cellar!