Meadowbank’s award-winning past with Syrah dates to the estate’s oldest vines (planted in 1974). In 2011, these vines famously led to the Jimmy Watson-winning Glaetzer-Dixon Mon Père Shiraz. Alongside a portion from those 45-year-old vines, fruit was picked by hand from a more recently planted (2015) north-facing block. All the vines are rooted in Meadowbank’s soils of loose sand and sandstone over dark brown coffee rock (rich in iron oxides and organic matter). Although the vines are technically farmed conventionally, the team has effectively practised organics on these blocks for two decades.
The 2022 fermented naturally with 100% whole berries and spent 12 days on skins before it was pressed to old French oak barrels. It matured on lees for nine months before being racked and bottled with no fining and only a minimal sulphur addition.
Meadowbank’s 2022 is a beautiful expression of Australia’s growing band of graceful, cool-climate Syrah. It is also a product of the cool and intensely flavoured 2022 season. Winemaker Peter Dredge describes the results in the glass best: “Expect an elegant and savoury red wine, with a satin-like texture that makes it very, very drinkable. A punch of acid, balanced with highly refined tannins that speak of the cool climate in which these grapes were grown.”