Grape: Syrah
Region: Barossa Valley
Perfect with: Slow braised veal shanks, braised beef cheeks and parsnip mash or just on its own!
Ageing Potential: Drink now - 2028
Size: 750mL

Why You'll Love It?

All Sami-Odi wines are 100% Syrah, from the same single vineyard in the Ebeneezer sub-region of Barossa Valley, grown from vines that are on average over 112 years old. 2014 Sami-Odi 'XIV' Syrah is utterly complex and enticing addition to the Sami-Odi family. 2014 was not an easy vintage, but what was assembled into a total of 3288 "Super Choice" bottles is undoubtedly incredible. Winemaker Fraser McKinley manages to create a wine that is not only smashable today but one that carries the structure to age for more than a decade! They come in special port-like bottle shapes with unique label art. Fraser said he chose the shape because they are light and because he's always been a fan of "the Normandy bottles used for Calvados or Apple Brandy". 

Using simple, yet attentive farming methods, Fraser places importance on organics and alignment with lunar rhythms. Probably not certified biodynamic for flexibility (or just not bothered to pay for a logo), but he certainly follows a lot of their farming practices.  All cuts are made amid  the wines descending moons and with the greatest of care, yearning to produce fine canes, balanced clusters and small berries with resilient skins. Shoot thinning, suckering and crop paring are all integral parts of the annual cycle with an ideal to farm as simply as possible, resulting in the harvest of healthy fruit early in the season that requires no additions or adjustments and little intervention. Fraser is also a fan of early picking for structure, purity/fruit brightness –“I like a lot of crunch.” Unlike most Ebeneezer red, Sami-Odi wines tend to be less "sweet" per se with more bones and less flesh due to the winemaking style.  

The grapes are hand-sorted, whole clusters are gently pigeaged by foot prior to basket pressing into Burgundian Pièces where they complete both their primary and malolactic fermentations. To encourage the retention of naturally occurring carbon dioxide (a by-product of fermentation and a natural preservative and antioxidant) the wines are not racked or clarified during their élevage and remain on their lees until they are assembled. 

Tastes Like?

Intensely concentrated from the outset, deep purple red in colour. Nose offers aromas of dark fruits, blackberries, black currants, violets and a hint of earthy, sweet spice. Powerful structure, full bodied with well integrated, supple tannins with medium acidity. Concentrated flavours of dark cherries, black plums, blackberries and some wet earthy. A wine that unravels over hours and some say maybe even weeks. Deeply charismatic and utterly delicious.  Not to be missed.