Double Barrel Class
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday May 14, 2008
THE $99 Tyrrell's 2005 Double Barrel 24 McLaren Vale Shiraz that I reviewed on May 7 represents a new direction in red winemaking for the Hunter-based Tyrrell's family wine company.
It is an initiative made possible by Tyrrell's acquisition of vineyards in South Australia's McLaren Vale and and Victoria's Heathcote areas.Tyrrell's fine, gentle Hunter shiraz reds have been marked by what Bruce Tyrrell describes as a "hands-off oak regime" with restrained wood maturation in 2250-litre barrels. But the 2005 Double Barrel 24, made from high-velocity McLaren Vale (90 per cent) and Heathcote (10 per cent) fruit, was given 12 months in new French oak, followed by a further 12 months in 255-litre barriques from Cognac hence the Double Barrel 24 name.The first Double Barrel 24 wine was produced in 2003. It was based predominantly on grapes from 40-year-old McLaren Vale vines.Bruce Tyrrell says the oak regime was determined in the 2003 trial when the wine was given 12 months in new French oak, after which Bruce and red winemaker Marl Richardson decided it would benefit from further "double barrel" time in oak.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald
