Bird In Hand 'Two In The Bush' Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2019 (Australia)

Bird In Hand 'Two In The Bush' Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2019 (Australia)French oak Blackberry & red plum Pepper & spice Supple tannins Deep red with bright purple hues in the glass. Lifted aromatics of blackberry, juicy red plum and dark cherry, with underlying hints of pepper and spice. A medium bodied and elegant wine with plenty of mid palate weight and flesh, supple tannins and balanced acidity driving a long finish. Sourced from selected cooler climate Shiraz vineyards in the Adelaide region including the Mt Lofty

• French oak
• Blackberry & red plum
• Pepper & spice
• Supple tannins

Deep red with bright purple hues in the glass. Lifted aromatics of blackberry, juicy red plum and dark cherry, with underlying hints of pepper and spice. A medium bodied and elegant wine with plenty of mid-palate weight and flesh, supple tannins and balanced acidity driving a long finish.

Sourced from selected cooler climate Shiraz vineyards in the Adelaide region including the Mt Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek. Harvest dates from the 25th of February to the 4th of April. A combination of spur and cane pruned blocks. These Shiraz blocks have shoots vertically trained with shoot thinning, trimming and leaf plucking employed where needed to control vigour and yield and facilitate even ripening.

A challenging growing season started with May to September total rainfall being 33% below average - resulting in low subsoil moisture levels. Low lying areas were affected by several frosty mornings in late September and early October. Generally mild spring conditions resulted in a later and longer flowering period, which was further interrupted by a severe spring storm in late November. Heavy rain, strong winds and patches of hail caused damage to shoots and bunches, resulting in poor flowering for most varieties across the region. Cooler than average weather throughout December slowed berry development, suggesting that the 2019 vintage would be later than average. A very hot and dry January and February reversed this trend, and when combined with low crop loads, grapes transitioned quickly through veraison and began to ripen rapidly. Careful irrigation management and harvest scheduling ensured that grapes were still harvested at the optimal time for flavour and style. Cooler and dry conditions from Mid-March into April provided ideal conditions for the subsequent ripening of red varieties.

Fruit was destemmed upon arrival to the winery, ensuring a large percentage of whole berries. Processed directly into small open fermenters ranging between 3-8 tonne. Fermented with a mix of wild and specially selected yeast strains. A variety of cap management techniques were used including gentle plunging, pump overs and delestage. Parcels spent between 7-12 days on skins before being  ently pressed and transferred to French oak barriques and hogsheads. All vineyard parcels are kept separate from harvesting through to final blending, with the wine characters distinctly different from each vineyard. The 2019 Two in the Bush Shiraz spent approximately 16 months in French oak. During this time the wine was racked once to assist in natural clarification. Samples are taken from individual Shiraz barrels and assessed by the winemaking team, looking for the right mix of colour, fruit character, complexity, and tannin structure for this label. The 2019 Two in the Bush Shiraz is comprised of 20% new French oak with the remainder seeing second and third year use French oak.