Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz, Clare Valley

Description

Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz is an Australian Icon Wine recognised as one of the best Shiraz wines produced in the Clare Valley. The first vintage was released in 1985. It is a wine of great power, length and poise.

Jim Barry: An Australian Wine Legend

Jim Barry was the first qualified winemaker in the Clare Valley. He graduated with a degree in oenology from the prestigious Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1947 and is famous for his benchmark Clare Valley Riesling. After graduation, Jim worked as the winemaker at the Clarevale Co-Op for 22 years. He also set up Taylor’s Wines (better known as Wakefield Wines in the UK) for the Taylor family in 1969. Jim Barry Wines was founded in 1959 and remains family-owned to this day.

Jim’s son Peter became MD in 1985 and today it is the third generation, Peter’s children Tom, Sam and Olivia, who are the winemaker, commercial manager and brand ambassador, respectively. It was voted ‘2020 Winery of the Year’ at the Halliday Wine Companion Awards.

Vineyards in Clare Valley & Coonawarra

The Jim Barry Wines estate consists of 17 vineyards covering 320 hectares in the Clare Valley and two vineyards covering 35 hectares in the Coonawarra.

Jim Barry Armagh Vineyard

The iconic ‘Armagh’ vineyard was named by the original Irish settlers who arrived in 1849 and called the lush, rolling hills after their homeland. In 1968, the 3.3 hectare vineyard was purchased by Jim Barry and it was planted it with Shiraz. The vineyard is located 2 kilometres northwest of Clare township on the opposite side of the hill on which Jim Barry Winery is located. There is also some Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec planted.

Today these low-yielding vines produce less 27 hectolitres per hectare. The soil is sandy gravel and receives an average rainfall of 600 millimetres per year. The vineyard lies on a northwest-facing slope which acts as a natural sun trap, ensuring the fruit is always fully ripened at harvest time. The Clare Valley climate is continental with a high diurnal temperature difference, producing Shiraz with evenly ripened tannins and flavour.

Winemaking

• 100% Shiraz grapes were hand-harvested and meticulously sorted.
• Grapes were destemmed and crushed.
• Vinification occurred in small two-tonne open-top fermenters with heading down boards.
• Heading down boards submerged the cap to gently extract colour, flavour and tannins.
• Pump-overs were performed twice daily.
• Rack and return was conducted once per day.
• Fermentation lasted eight days.
• Wine was racked to oak barrels for malolactic conversion.
• Wine was matured for 16 months in oak barrels (60% French, 40% American oak hogsheads).