Farmers Leap Pillar Box Red, Padthaway

Description

Farmers Leap Pillar Box Red is an Australian red wine blend from the Padthaway wine-growing region.

Farmers Leap Wines was established by third generation Padthaway farmers Scott Longbottom and Cheryl Merrett. They began planting vines in Padthaway in 1995 on the family property. Today there are plantings, mainly, of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot. To begin with most of the fruit was sold on to other wine producers but, as time has gone by, and with increased success of the Farmers Leap label, more and more fruit is destined for their own label. Today there are over 400 hectares of vineyards planted and farmed alongside the family’s sheep, cattle and onion crops.

The Padthaway wine-growing region is located in the inland centre of the Limestone Coast in South Australia some 155 miles to the south of Adelaide. The climate here is Mediterranean and the soils are rich, terra rossa over limestone (similar to Coonawarra to south). The region is probably best known for red wine production and Padthaway Shiraz has always been particularly well-regarded.

The fruit for the Farmers Leap Pillar Box Red sourced from family vineyards in Padthaway, on soils of sandy loam and red loamy clay over limestone. This is a three-way blend of  Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend harvested from individual sites when flavour ripe, aiming for concentration of fruit whilst also maintaining freshness and a good acid balance. During the winemaking process each was fermented on skins for a period of approximately 7 days and then kept separate and matured as individual parcels in either stainless steel or oak for a period of 12 months. A final blend was made from the components to create a balanced blend of the three varieties. 

The 2018 Farmers Leap Pillar Box Red is a blend of 68% Shiraz, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot.