Luke Lambert Yarra Valley Syrah 2017

It's fair to say Luke Lambert hasn't looked back since 'relocating' his Syrah to the Tibooburra vineyard. This southwest sloping site lies in the southeastern corner of the Valley, near Gembrook, and might be the coolest microclimate of the Yarra. The site is expertly managed by Greg Kerr, the grower who planted the vineyard in 2001. The soils here are considered very unusual for the Yarra, comprising a seam of black volcanic topsoil over yellow clay with a smattering of granite rock throughout. Furthermore, the quality of the clonal material in Tibooburra supplies Lambert with deeper and darker Syrah fruit that also has more depth and structure. This is what drew him to the site and a good chunk of the reason the Syrah has become a touchstone example of cool-climate Yarra Shiraz.

Handling was pretty similar to the previous vintage(s) - same mix of clones, wild ferment, same oak handling [an 8 year old, 4000 litre, large-format oak]. That said, Lambert worked with a larger percentage (70%) whole bunches in to tauten the wines structure from this sunny and warm season. As always, the wine was left unsulfured until just prior to bottling without fining or filtration.

“This is the Syrah I've been trying to make for 14 years,” states Luke. As an opening statement from such a quietly spoken winemaker, it couldn’t be any more definitive. “It's still light in its feet and framed by crisp acids, but with loads of black pepper spice and the full gamut of red cherry through to sweet blackberry fruit.” Luke also sights the whole bunches playing the key role in supporting the fruit with a bright, refreshing spine of tannins and dried herb complexity. In short, “…something I've been shooting for since I started making my own wine.” Luke Lambert has every right to be so delighted with this wine. It’s the greatest example of this wine we have offered, and we believe one of the very finest young Australian Syrah wines we have tasted. It’s a blinder so don’t miss it.