Description

PRODUCER:
Established by Bob and Cherie Berton in May 1996, Berton Vineyard is one of Hallgarten’s most important partners. The estate covers 30 hectares of land on gently rolling hills at 450 metres above sea level, in the Eden Valley subregion of South Australia. The superb Reserve Shiraz and Reserve Chardonnay wines are still sourced from this plot. In 2007, Bob purchased the Yenda winery in the heart of the Riverina. This state-of-the-art facility has the capacity to process 20,000 tonnes and enables Berton Vineyard to produce value-for-money wines that sit alongside their premium single-vineyard offerings.

VINEYARD:
The vineyard was planted in 1996, with vines planted 1.5m apart and with 3.3m between the rows. A single wire trellis system is used, which ensures good ventilation and minimal disease. The canopy is typically quite sparse, allowing maximum sunlight penetration. The vines are spur pruned and grown in “Podsolics”, an old grey soil formed over yellow clay, which is sandy and slightly sodic.

WINEMAKING:
The Shiraz was picked in late April; the grapes were destemmed and crushed into 15-tonne static fermenters, where it was inoculated with carefully selected yeast. Fermentation continued for six days between 22°C and 28°C on premium French untoasted and toasted oak. The wine was then pressed at 0.5 Baumé into stainless steel storage tanks and left to ferment until dry. It was then racked into stainless steel storage for malolactic conversion. Once complete, each parcel was clarified via centrifuge and transferred into new and used French and American oak barrels for 12 months. The best barrels were carefully selected and blended before bottling.

VINTAGE:
In the vineyard, a warm, dry summer provided a clean and disease-free vintage with great ripening conditions across all regions. Despite some hot days, extended heat waves did not play a role during the growing season. Unfortunately, some of the South Australian vineyards suffered from spring frost damage with significant yield loss. However, the quality of the fruit at harvest was not affected, which delivered excellent varietal typicity.

TASTING NOTE:
The Bonsai impresses with impenetrable violet hues and delivers intense aromas of blueberry, plum, liquorice and toasty oak. Subtle fine tannins marry perfectly with the soft, elegant palate of dark cherry, plum and white pepper.

GRAPES:
Cabernet Sauvignon 14%, Shiraz 86%.