2020 Ochota Barrels Where's The Pope? Syrah 1.5L
McLaren Vale, SA
A new addition to the Ochota Barrels family, this silky vibrant McLaren Vale Shiraz is just brilliant to drink.
$90.00
Out of Stock
About The Wine
A new wine enters the Ochota Barrels fray from 2020, the criptically named Where's the Pope? Syrah.
This comes from younger vines planted in 1996 on the Green Room Grenache vineyard in McLaren Vale.
Of course, it's not your run of the mill McLaren Vale Shiraz, it comes with all the perfume, lift and energy that you expect from the wines of Taras and Amber.
Prettiness is not a character you would typically use to describe Shiraz from this region, however Taras gets there with a gentle hand, some soft foot-stomping and a short time in old barrels.
It's lively, fresh and super silky to drink. McLaren Vale Shiraz at its most elemental. Delicious stuff.
About Ochota Barrels
The term “rockstar winemaker” gets thrown around a lot these days but Taras Ochota, owner/purveyor of cult wine label Ochota Barrels, is the real deal.
His grungy, minimalist attitude towards his label has seen him gain huge cult status internationally as one of the most boundary-pushing winemakers in Australia. From his home in the beautiful Basket Range of the Adelaide Hills, Taras and his wife Amber craft small batches of wine from surrounding vineyards in the Hills and special sites across McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. Taras picks earlier than most as a general rule, so expect lighter, more ethereal wines with freshness and 'tension' as a motif.
These are highly sought after and extremely limited wines which have a pulsating energy and drive to them. Some of the country's most exciting vinous creations, no doubt.
Basket Range, SA
From The Producer
Tiny berries on loose bunches from vines planted on a hill of schist in 1996. This is the same vineyard the green room grenache comes from, so certified organic and this year the vineyard was not sprayed at all. Nuts!
Handpicked early February.
100% whole bunch
Gently pigeaged day 1 then very gentle hand cap soaking
Cold soaked for a few daze days until wild yeast fermentation in separate half tonne vessels
Short ferments
Basket pressed to old French barriques
Unfined and unfiltered
No additions besides 40 ppm so2 at bottling
Blend : Shiraz (100%)
ABV : 12.80%
Closure : Cork
Drink Until : 2024
Bottle Size : 750ml
Basket Range, SA
Critic Reviews
"From a vineyard planted in 1996 on schist soils in McLaren Vale. Aimed at sitting at a different style to the I Am The Owl syrah, which is more structured/serious, per se. Sweet berries, sweet herbs, green peppery, undergrowth characters, anise notes. Pretty perfume. Sloshes into the palate joyously, a sheath of fine tannins, flinty mineral characters, red berry fruitiness, sour-tangy acidity refreshing to close. Vibrant expression, edgy and great drinking." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
"Clove and spiced blood orange basted in the elaborate flavours rustic bouillon. There is an ebb and flow of white sage, peppercorn and bay leaf, but ultimately this potion is awash with lashings of freshly picked fingerstaining dewberry, raspberry coulis, black forest cherries and suede. (yes….suede!!) keep that mind alive pussysausage. All the while a composition of plush supple turkisk coffee grind-like tannins softly poise themselves with embrace, anchored in red line acidity He in that unmistakable savoury finish in a tailored suit….she the epitome of supple yet vivacious nervous energy." - Taras Ochota
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