Very much in the style of a
Rhône Syrah, aromatic, elegantly structured and suave, offering violet and white pepper notes, blueberries and soy over fine cherry tannins. Just a dash of Viognier imparts ethereal, teasing perfumes of honeysuckle and turkish delight. Fruit is hand picked from choice vineyards in the Pyrenees and Yarra Valley, treated to a course of old world style, whole berry ferments. Syrah is a great food wine, match with capsicum recipes and wild rice, the innocent bystander loves to feed!
The team at Innocent Bystander work with like minded growers to assemble the finest fruit. Components from great Victorian vineyards are determined each year to create a consistent style from one vintage to the next. Grapes are destemmed into small open fermenters, a deliberately small portion is incorporated as whole bunches. Treated to a cold maceration before a mainly wild vinification, ferments are plunged and drained regularly, while some experience a post ferment maceration to soften tannins. The wine is pressed, settled and gravity drained to a selection of exclusively French oak barriques and puncheons for malolactic and extended maturation.
TASTING NOTESBright garnet red. A nose of orange zest and five spice, juniper and campari, cherry ripe, red summer berries, dark chocolates and cocoa. Firm bright tannins in support of brooding textures, wild blackberries and raspberry, a long savoury finish. Yarra fruit delivers spice and backbone while the Pyrenees contributes spiced plum and chocolate characters.