Dalwhinnie is well into its fourth decade of icon Australian Shiraz. Their parched soils atop the inhospitable climes of the Pyrenees yield restricted harvests of parched berries with aromatic, mouth filling spice characters and intense tannins. Just four kilometres along Taltarni Road on the Moonambel valley floor, Dalwhinnie has been pampering younger plantings at the Forest Hut Vineyard established in the 1990s. Now fully mature, these unirrigated and dry farmed, well canopied, vertically shoot positioned vines are producing intensely flavoured Shiraz.

Crafted from parcels of Shiraz grown to the cooler, slower ripening Forest Hut site. The climes are three to four degrees cooler than Dalwhinnie, all year round, so vintage arrives some three weeks later. Vines make the most of the extra time on offer to ripen grapes fully and develop vibrant fruit characters. The Dalwhinnie team know that great Shiraz can only come from a healthy, well pruned vine which has the proper balance of fruit to foliage for even ripening. Grapes are harvested and gently crushed, destemmed and pumped to fermentation tank for two weeks vinification, followed by transfer to a selection of old, well seasoned French oak barriques for maturation.