St Hallett Faith Shiraz

Dark ruby red in color, Faith Shiraz displays vibrant dark cherry, raspberry and rich chocolate and mocha flavors balanced with an even, textural palate with smooth and supple tannins, with a hint of vanillin oak. The overall palate effect is of rich ripe fruit and a generosity that is the hallmark of Barossa Shiraz.

Winemaking Notes

The fruit is harvested during the warmth of the day, brought to the winery, immediately crushed into stainless steel fermenters and inoculated with a neutral yeast strain. Fermentation occurs over a 6 – 8 day period, with some variation in handling techniques to extract the fruit characters and palate texture from the different parcels and to add to the overall complexity of the finished wine. Temperatures of all the ferments occur in the range of 72-75°F with a regime of four pump overs per 24 hours to extract colour, flavour and tannins from the skins. On completion of primary yeast fermentation, the wine is drained and pressed, and seeded with Lactic Acid bacteria for Malolactic Fermentation (MLF). Maturation occurs in a combination of new, 1, 2 and 3 year old French and American oak barrels for 12-16 months before blending and bottling.

Wine Production Stats

Alcohol: 14.5%
Total Acidity: 7.0g/L
pH: 3.55

The 2007 harvest started approximately three weeks earlier than normal on January 25th and finished some four weeks earlier than normal on March 22nd – making it one of the earliest and shortest vintages on record. Despite the warm conditions, low yields and early vintage, ripening and flavor development progressed at a steady rate. The strong growth habit of the of the Barossa's flagship variety Shiraz, allowed it to cope well with the dry season. The earlier ripening vintage allowed picking at slightly lower alcohols, while still delivering typical generosity of flavor and ripe supple tannins.

90 points - "Smart Buys"

Wine Spectator
"This is a beautifully contained wine that's neither too broad nor too tight, expressive of cherry, violet and sweet spices, playing against refined tannins on the long finish." – Harvey Steiman (2005 vintage)

89 points - "Smart Buys"

Wine Spectator
"Velvety, open-textured and appealing for its blackberry and tar flavors, hinting tobacco. The finish sails on."
– Harvey Steiman (2006 vintage)

"5 Stars"

Restaurant Wine, Ronn Wiegard MW (2005 & 2006 vintage)