White Boar 2012
Tasting Notes
White Boar has a nose of well-worn leather, dark fruit, dark chocolate, with a full soft palate and fine grained tannins. This wine is plush, and in Joch’s words, ready to roll.
Vintage
It is a massive truism, but really, every vintage is different. Vintage 2012 was condensed into about 8 weeks from go to whoa which meant we had finished crushing all grapes by the end of March. Generally this feat would only be accomplished by the middle to end of April. Yields across all varieties were considerably down on average (from 15-40% in some varieties), but quality is looking very promising for both reds and whites. We had cool conditions up until the end of February then some rain, which did not affect things too much (see vintage 2011)as the whites were already picked and safely in the winery, and reds were unaffected.
Winemaking
‘White Boar’ is our version of Amarone, a style of wine made in the Italian region of Valpolicella using 3 indigenous varieties which are picked and then dried on racks before being fermented. We have adapted the process so that we cut the canes of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon vines to sever the water and nutrient supply from the vine, so that the leaves die and fall off and the fruit dries and concentrates on the vine. We pick the grapes after about 10-12 days and ferment them slowly and painfully – the sugar content after this period of drying is pretty high. The wine is fermented to dryness however. We mature the wine in old larger format barrels and then bottle it. White Boar is a long lived wine.
Reviews
Nick Stock's McLaren Vale Report #2 on www.jamessuckling.com
a vine dried version of the Shiraz Cabernet blend that has a distinctive leaf, herb and liquorice nose; the Cabernet really shines bright. On the palate it's Shiraz that takens centre stage, filling the mouth with plum and sumemr berry flavours; tannins hold long and true, the balance is superb.
92 points
The Wine Front June 2016 Mike Bennie
Bold scents sit you back in your seat. Dark berry compote, dark chocolate, clove and cinnamon oak character, waves of spice and earth and leather. Molten tannin flows over concentrated dark fruit in the mouth. Holds a full figured, plush line. Saturates the palate beautifully.
Rated : 94 Points
Other Vintages
Technical Details
Vineyards: Chanticleer
Picking Date: 29th February 2012
Bottling Date: 2nd April 2014
Alc/Vol: 14.5%