Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine comments Max & Me Cabernet 2018 is from our Boongarrie Estate 'Bottom Block’, an East-facing ironstone-underlain block planted in 1998. Pick date: 06/04/18. Cabernet is an under-rated beast in the Eden Valley! Winemaking for this release utilised long-maceration techniques to build the wine for exceptional ageability, fine tannins and long flavours. 65% of the cuvee had a total of 40 days on skins in a closed-fermenter, with another portion 11 days. Elevage and maturation was in fine-grain French oak hogsheads (new 25%) for 18 months maturation prior to bottling. 2018 was another excellent growing season at our property for Cabernet, where it excels when it is not under any prolonged water-stress. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2018 Syrah

Wine comments 2018 Syrah, named as the growing, picking, fermentation and élevage decisions were taken to feature the fragrance and spice of Shiraz grown in the cool Eden Valley. Pick date: 21/03/2018. The Shiraz grapes were from our Boongarrie Estate ‘North’ and ‘House’ blocks, at an SG of ¬13.5Be. Hand-picking the grapes allowed a portion whole-bunch inclusion in the small open ferment (28%). The addition of the bunch rachi brings minerality, spice and vitality to the flavour spectrum. Old French puncheons were used so the oak flavour is minimal and the pristine fruit aromas and flavours are central. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine comments Max & Me Cabernet 2017 is from our Boongarrie Estate 'Bottom Block’, an East-facing ironstone-underlain block planted in 1998. Pick date: 18/04/17. Cabernet is an under-rated beast in the Eden Valley! Winemaking for this release utilised long-maceration techniques to build the wine for exceptional ageability, fine tannins and long flavours. Half of the cuvee had a total of 40 days on skins in a closed-fermenter, with another portion 11 days. Elevage and maturation was in fine-grain French oak hogsheads (new 25%) for 18 months maturation prior to bottling. 2017 was an excellent growing season at our property for Cabernet, where it excels when it is not under any prolonged water-stress. We had good natural rainfall at the right times for the vines and fruit to have excellent health. Harvest was prior to later rainfall events, and we are confident that the 17 Cab will be our best Cabernet release to date. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2017 Shiraz

Wine comments Max & Me Shiraz 2017 is from our Boongarrie Estate ‘House Block’ Shiraz, a small ironstone-rich block planted in 1998 with cuttings from the old-block Shiraz on Poonawatta Vineyard, a legendary local Eden Valley source block. Pick date: 13/04/17. Winemaking continued methods used for the previous 3 vintages, where harvesting was carried out in the cool of night with a grape destemming and sorting harvester, then open fermenting in grape bins with pigéage for maceration. A total of 9 days on skins. Elevage and maturation was in fine-grain French oak hogsheads and puncheons (new 30%) for 18 months maturation prior to bottling. 2017 was a terrific growing season at our property, with sufficient rainfall at the right times for the vines and fruit to have excellent health. Harvest was prior to some later rainfall events, and we are excited that the 17 reds, and particularly this Shiraz, will be among our best releases to date. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2017 'The House Blend' Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

Wine comments A new-release from Max & Me, the 2017 House Blend Cabernet Shiraz. Our take on the 'Great Aussie Blend', from our Boongarrie Estate vineyard. An unusual quirk with Boongarrie vineyard is that it's Cabernet and Shiraz are often ripe at the same time. (One would typically expect the Cab to take a few extra weeks to ripen than the shiraz.) So we picked and fermented half of the batch as a Cab/Shiraz co-ferment (pick date 6/04/2017), and left on skins for a month of extended maceration to build the flavours and refine the tannins. Other parcels were fermented separately. After aging all of the batches in French Oak hogsheads for 18 months, the blend was completed with some extra 'Bottom Block' Cab and 'North Block' Shiraz, to arrive at a 60/40% Cab Shiraz. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2017 Syrah

Wine comments A first-release wine for Max & Me; 2017 Syrah, so named as the growing, picking, fermentation and élevage decisions were taken to feature the fragrance and spice of Shiraz grown in the cool Eden Valley, more akin in style to a Northern-Rhône expression of Shiraz, rather than traditional Barossan. Pick date: 10/04/2017. The Shiraz grapes were from our Boongarrie Estate ‘North’ and ‘House’ blocks, and harvest was early, in the first flush of berry ripeness. Hand-picking the grapes allowed significant whole-bunch inclusion in the small open ferment (30%). The addition of the bunch rachi brings minerality, spice and vitality to the flavour spectrum, and only old French puncheons were used so the oak flavour pickup is minimal and the pristine fruit aromas and flavours are central. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2016 Shiraz

Wine comments Max & Me Shiraz 2016 as usual was from our Boongarrie Estate ‘House Block’ Shiraz, a small ironstone-rich block planted in 1998 with cuttings from Poonawatta Vineyard, a legendary local Eden Valley old-vine source block. Pick date: 29/02/16. Winemaking philosophy is to faithfully reflect the effects of the site, the vine stock and the season, whilst also creating a structured wine ideal for aging. Techniques utilised were harvesting with a grape destemming and sorting harvester, open fermenting in grape bins utilising pigéage for maceration and a total of 11 days on skins, then pressing to a mix of new (30%) and old fine-grain French oak hogsheads for 18 months maturation prior to bottling. The 2016 had a dry growing season, and with empty dams on our property the vines had to make do with a single 2 hr irrigation for the entire season – basically dry grown. The resulting wine shows great intensity of flavour concentration and vibrant colour, and at this early age appears ideally suitable for a long cellaring potential. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine comments Max & Me Cabernet 2015 is from our Boongarrie Estate 'Bottom Block’, an East-facing ironstone-underlain block planted in 1998. Pick date: 19/03/2015. Cabernet is an under-rated beast in the Eden Valley! Harvesting was carried out in the cool of night with a Pellenc Selectiv grape destemming and sorting harvester, then winemaking comprised open fermenting in a grape bin with pigéage for maceration. A total of 10 days on skins. Elevage and maturation was in fine-grain French oak hogsheads and barriques (new 20%) for 18 months maturation prior to bottling. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine comments Max & Me Cabernet 2012 is from our Boongarrie Estate 'Top' and 'Bottom' blocks, both East-facing and planted in 1998. Cabernet is an under-rated beast in the Eden Valley! Harvesting was carried out in the cool of night, then winemaking comprised open fermenting in a grape bin with pigéage for maceration. A total of 8 days on skins. Elevage and maturation was in fine-grain French oak hogsheads for 12 months maturation prior to bottling. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2015 Shiraz

Wine comments Max & Me Shiraz 2015 is from our Boongarrie Estate ‘House Block’ Shiraz, a small ironstone-rich block planted in 1998 with cuttings from the old-block Shiraz on Poonawatta Vineyard, a legendary local Eden Valley source block. Pick date: 5/03/2015. Picking utilised a new technology with significant quality advancement where harvesting was carried out in the cool of night with a Pellenc Selectiv grape destemming and sorting harvester. Fermentation was open-style in grape bins, with pigéage for maceration. A total of 10 days on skins. Elevage and maturation was in fine-grain French oak hogsheads and puncheons (new 30%) for 18 months maturation prior to bottling. 2015 was a very unusual season for us, where the weather conditions the previous spring meant there was a miniscule crop in the vineyard (0.3 T/ac), though the vines were in excellent health throughout the growing season. This incredibly low crop had the effect of amplifying the flavours and aromas from our particular site. Definitely one of our most treasured vintages. Save

Max & Me 'Boongarrie Estate' 2012 Shiraz

Wine comments Max & Me Shiraz 2012 is only the second-relase of this Shiraz label. The Shiraz grapes were grown in our Boongarrie 'House Block', a small ironstone-rich block planted in 1998 with cuttings from Poonawatta Vineyard, a legendary local Eden Valley old-vine source block. This wine was made a year into my winemaking tenure at Teusner Wines in the Barossa, a place where small batch open fermentation of reds is the religion of the place, and I marvelled at the way that ample air during fermentation has the effect of rounding the tannins and stabilising the vibrant colour. 2012 was a terrific Eden Valley vintage, with the grapes effortlessly ripening to an opulent degree, producing incredibly dense flavours whilst still retaining the mineral and fragrant characteristics of Eden Valley. Following 10 days on skins, the batch was basket-pressed to a pair of second-fill Françoise Freres puncheons, for 14 months maturation prior to bottling. Save