2016 Jamsheed Garden Gully Syrah, Great Western

The ancient bush vines of this 8-acre Great Western vineyard date back to at least 1890 and are incredibly low yielding (less than one-tonne per acre). Gary tells us the site - which is on the grey loams over deep limestone abutting the Concongella Creek - was as good as mothballed when he approached the owner. The Syrah vines are 'Old Best's' clone, on their own roots, while the soil is clay over deep, hard ironstone with buckshot and quartz. Gary Mills has been the caretaker of these ancient vines since 2005 when he first approached owner Tom Guthrie. Vineyard restoration began in 2006, and this wine has grown in leaps and bounds with each vintage. 

Warm years are nothing new to Great Western, rather it's the norm. Each vintage, Mills is choosing to harvest earlier and in 2016 picked the fruit a whole month earlier than average providing "a freshness and levity that belies the early season. Still, with its trademark old vine intensity, our aim is to ever build a prettier Garden Gully Syrah." Garden Gully vineyard is an 1892 planting of low yielding bush vines. Hand harvested and simply wild fermented as 100% whole bunches in a 500-litre puncheon (with the head removed) for 40 days. Following, the wine was pressed to one 400-litre puncheon and bottled unfiltered after ten months.

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