More to life than Shiraz in South Australia
Posted by Joelle Thomson on
Massena is new in store from the Barossa Valley and is a wine producer showing there is more to life than Shiraz in South Australia. Here is the trio of wines we have chosen to dip our toes in the water of lovely full bodied, smooth reds that highlight another string or three to our nearest wine producing neighbour's bow.
The 2017 Massena Moonlight Run Mataro Grenache Shiraz RRP $36.99
Fans of GSMs will love this wine from Massena, which turns the classic formula of Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre on its head. This is an MGS, Mataro, Grenache, Shiraz, and the Mataro here makes up 73% of the wine and is grown on quartz soils in Massena's Dadd's (correct spelling) Block Vineyard. The juice was fermented with 30% whole clusters and blended with Mataro grown on two other vineyards, then blended with Grenache from the Barossa foothills and Shiraz from Tanunda.
Daily pump overs during the early fermentation were followed by punch downs towards the finish of the ferment with gentle extraction then aging in both tank and barrel.
This is a full bodied wine with dark, powerful fruit flavours and firm tannins with notes of softness adding approachability.
The Australians are fond of referring to the Mourvedre grape as Mataro. It's the same grape by two different names.
2020 Massena The Twilight Path Primitivo RRP $35.99
This smooth, soft, velvety Primitivo is proof that there's more to life than Shiraz in Australia's wine headquarters. All grapes in this wine were hand picked from Barossa's South Moppa sub region. They were partially destemmed grapes with 30% whole bunches in the ferment and daily pump overs early in the winemaking process to extract colour and body followed by punch downs to gently extra flavours of bright red fresh berry fruit, such as raspberries, strawberries and notes of spice adding complexity.
2018 Massena Colour Palette McLaren Vale Shiraz RRP $32.99
Fun and fruity with structure provided by the powerful but smooth tannins in this lively, dry, fresh and full bodied Shiraz.
* Massena wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered