LIVING ICONS A group of McLaren Vale vignerons recently formed an association of Living Icons to promote the region’s heritage through the antiquity of its 19th Century-planted vineyards. McLaren Vale’s surviving plantings date back to the 1880s. It is possible that Coriole’s 1919 Block comprises earlier plantings dating back to the early 1870s, but at this stage, it is not included. Nonetheless, the Living Icons vineyards are well-documented original McLaren Vale plantings and hark back to the days of South Australia’s remarkable export boom, mainly based on Shiraz and Grenache, but also Mataro, Carignan, and Cabernet Sauvignon. All the Living Icon wines are based on Shiraz, highlighting the variety’s importance in the South Australian Red Burgundy Blends of the 1890s, 1900s, and beyond. The Living Icons all share a common theme of winemaking with open ferments in the traditional way. These retro-modern classics also have a common peaty complexity and freshness, plushness, and ferruginous vigour. Living Icon Vineyards 1887 Paxton Old Vine Thomas Block Vineyard EJ Shiraz – McLaren Flat 2.6 hectares. Alluvial soils; clay and river stone dominant. Open fermented, gentle hand plunging twice daily, 22 months in 100% French oak barriques, and 18 months bottle age before release. 1891 Ox Hardy Upper Tintara Vineyards Ancestor Vine Shiraz – Blewitt Springs 0.35 hectares and 1.37 hectares planted by Thomas Hardy. Alluvial loams. Vinified in one-tonne open fermenters. Hand lunged three times daily. Matured in one-year-old French oak barriques. 1892 Richard Hamilton Hutt Block Centurion Vineyard (Hut 08) Shiraz – McLaren Flat 0.74 hectares. Sandy loam and old river clay with a deep bed of limestone. Partially whole bunch vinified in two-tonne open French oak fermenters.
Matured in 25% new and seasoned (1-3 year) oak. 1892 Kay Brothers Block 6 Vineyard Shiraz – Seaview
1.4 hectares. A combination of red loam, heavy clay and gravelly alluvial soils. Vinified in original 1895 open fermenters and basked pressed with maturation for 18-20 months in French and American oak puncheons.
McLaren Vale
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