The Hedonist Shiraz, Walter Clappis Wines

Description

The Hedonist Shiraz is a biodynamic red wine made by Walter Clappis wines in the McLaren Vale wine-growing region. Walter Clappis has been making wine for 25 years and is considered to be one of Australia’s most outstanding Winemakers – he is the only Winemaker to have ever won the coveted Dan Murphy Trophy three times.

Walter Clappis has always made wine employing the most traditional methods: open vat fermentation and basket pressing with fermentation usually being completed in small oak barrels. This method is adopted to increase the overall complexity and integration of oak through the wine. Now he farms his vineyards bio-dynamically and does not use pesticides or herbicides. The emphasis of bio-dynamics is about promoting soil health and maintaining a balanced and diverse population of soil biology. All the wines reflect a purity of fruit which is consistent with the Winemaker and his philosophies. Today Walter has been joined in wine-making by his daughter, Kimberly, and her partner James Cooter.

Grapes for The Hedonist Shiraz are sourced from 18 year old vines grown in Clappis’s own vineyard situated in the Willunga foothills, McLaren Vale. Here the warm summer days are cooled by evening sea breezes from St Vincent’s Gulf, which lies nearby, some 10 kms, to the west. The soil is rich loam over clay with patches of underlying limestone, giving the wine a rich and fullness of palate.

After harvest, the grapes undergo a gentle crushing. The must is then pumped into traditional 10 tonne open fermenters. The parcels of grapes are vinified separately until the final blending. The wine is pressed and racked off the skins into oak hogsheads (300L barrels), a mixture of new and seasoned French and American (20% new French Oak; 40% seasoned French oak and 40% seasoned American Oak). Here the wine finishes its primary fermentation and undergoes malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged for a further 12 months in oak barrels before final blending and bottling. Bottled unfiltered. 100% Shiraz.

Certified Bio-dynamic by the NASAA.