Wine: Ram’s Leap: Shiraz

New South Wales

New South Wales was the first State in Australia to be colonised by Europeans and subsequently was the first to grow the grapevine (there are no native vitis species in Australia). The State, lying on the continent’s east coast, boasts an incredibly diverse range of climates from coastal, such as the Shoalhaven Coast region lying south of Sydney, to Alpine, across the top of the Great Dividing Range, where hardy growers persist at over 500m above sea level. West of the Great Dividing Range and along the inland flowing Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers are the warm-climate regions of Riverina and Perricoota and the northern portion of the Swan Hill and Murray Darling. One of Australia’s best known wine zones – the Hunter Valley – is in New South Wales.

Ram’s Leap

Ram’s Leap is considered the McLaughlin family’s core brand. It is more contemporary in look and approachable in style, but just as serious when it comes to winemaking. Organic techniques are exercised in the vineyard, including the use of natural fertilizer from the sheep farm & straw from the wheat crops. The wine in turn, generates great intensity and complexity from the low yields (2 tonnes/acre) and a healthy balanced mesoclimate in the vineyard. The Flagship wine for the family is the Ram’s Leap Shiraz displaying an unique intensity of style. The soil and climate are idyllic for the Southern French
varietals planted. The course sandy alluvial soils deposited there by the Duck Creek 2000 years ago and long ripening days create an ideal setting to construct full bodied wines with a unique outback terroir.

“Old world sophistication with an Australian Pedigree”. The Shiraz is fermented with a Rhone yeast at 28-30 degrees
Celsius. This is to emulate the elegant style of the wines of the “Cote du Rhone” with a hallmark Australian intensity. The ultra
low yields (2 tonnes/acre) harvested from the Shiraz blocks is a testament to the intense flavor and color profile and the reason
why it is the flagship varietal. After an extended time on skins (14 days) the wine is left to mature for 12 months in 2-3 year old
American oak. This allows the wine to retain its delicate fruit expression and display luscious coco characters on the palate.

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