S.C. Pannell Tempranillo Touriga McLaren Vale 2021 750ml

ABOUT Tempranillo and Touriga Naçional are indigenous to the Iberian Peninsula and are the most famous red grape varieties of Spain and Portugal respectively. Tempranillo is also grown in Portugal where it is known as Tinta Roriz, and traditionally blended with Touriga Naçional and other indigenous varieties. Whilst Tempranillo is now well known, Touriga Naçional may be new to many wine drinkers and in need of further introduction. It’s a lusty red variety that produces medium-bodied yet powerful wines with pungent fruit characteristics of fruit-mince or plum pudding. It blends well with the red fruit, earth and cocoa of Tempranillo and may just be the variety and wine for our times. The climatic suitability to the South Australian wine growing region is unquestionable in both of these varieties, resulting in increased sustainability and wines with great natural balance, complexity and flavor. The 2021 vintage was promising with strong growth, no disease pressure, and plentiful, perfectly ripe fruit, though labor shortages and a drawn-out harvest well into May tested patience. The grapes were hand-harvested, crushed, and vinified separately in small open top fermenters with daily pumpovers. Post-primary fermentation, the grapes are pressed directly to a 9850-liter vat. After nine months of aging, the wine was bottled with a gentle cross-flow filtration and a small dosage of sulfur. No fining. DATA Grapes: 70% Tempranillo (Tina Ruíz) - 30% Touriga Naçional Vineyard: Koomilya Vine Age: Both: 51-years-old (Riesling rootstock) - 9-years-old (graft) Soil Type: Maslin beach sands flecked with iron stone over yellow and white clay Viticulture: Practicing organic Fermentation: Inoculated – stainless steel (100% destemmed, separate ferments) Skin Contact: 14 days Aging: 9 months in 9850L vats Alcohol: 14% pH: 3.82 Total Acidity: 5.4 g/L Total SO2: 50 ppm Total Production: 1,000 cases TASTING NOTE Black fruits, cherry, fruit bread & red licorice, overlaid with Touriga Nacional’s pungent fruit, jasmine scented floral and nutmeg/cinnamon spices. Intense, tightly intertwined flavors, layered with granular tannins. PRESS James Suckling | 92