Alpha Crucis Winemakers' Series Tim Knappstein Shiraz

Chalk Hill Alpha Crucis Winemakers' Series Tim Knappstein Shiraz is the work of winemaker Tim Knappstein of Riposte in the Adelaide Hills.

The Winemakers' Series sees six small batch winemakers entrusted with six rows of Shiraz from Chalk Hill's Heritage Vineyard in McLaren Vale. The brief is to produce a wine that reflects their individual winemaking philosophy.

A mix of whole bunches, whole berries, and crushed and destemmed fruit is added to a single fermenter. The juice is inoculated with a yeast usually used for Pinot Noir, then fermented for over a week.

It is pressed in a modern airbag press which mimics the cycle of a traditional basket press. The wine is then racked off lees to French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and ageing.

Deep crimson, Chalk Hill Alpha Crucis Winemakers' Series Tim Knappstein Shiraz is full bodied with dark fruit flavours and developed tannins. Cellaring potential is 10 years.