Setiono Flaxman Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023

I am a fan of the Setiono wines. The elegance and restraint of the Setiono Flaxman is lovely to behold. This is quite a different expression to the 2022. It has a strong sarsaparilla and spice combo going on now. On the second night, the Syrah dark fruits and silkiness starts to poke its head out. The change is quite striking and quite fascinating. It certainly points to a wine that will improve and evolve greatly over the next decade or longer. Samantha Chandra created the Setiono label out of her passion for Rhone-styled Shiraz. Sam has experience working at Wynns, Yering Station and Agricola. Sam has access to fruit from two mature vineyards, one in Ebenezer and one in Eden Valley. These are lovely wines, made without compromise and are pleasing to drink. Setiono Flaxman Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023 Winery Notes “V23 in Eden Valley began with replenishing amounts of rainfall, followed by a notably late harvest and steady ripening conditions creating expressive, elegant wines. The fruit for this wine was sourced from Christa and Leon Deans’ Naimanya vineyard in Flaxman Valley. Their vineyard is believed to be the highest shiraz site in SA, sitting at an elevation of 525m. The vines are over 30 years old with granitic loam soils that were formed from impact with a meteorite. 100% whole bunches were hand-picked and wild fermented to attain the purest expression of the site. Carbonic maceration took place with minimal disturbance during fermentation, followed by four weeks on skins. 25% new French oak was used with the wine maturing on full lees for about a year. Bottling took place on site without filtration or fining and all movements were carried out gently with the use of gravity. Production – 1614 bottles The label background was painted by Angela Oemcke and was created to mimic the waterways underneath the vineyard and convey Eden Valley’s cool climate.” Barossa Valley One of the major wine regions of Australia. Known for making great Shiraz by any standard as well as Grenache, Mataro, Semillon and much more. There has been a lot of work finding the sub-regions that excel for each style and variety planted. Shiraz/Syrah A bit of a chameleon, Shiraz can change how it looks depending on the terroir and/or winemaker influence. The Syrah-based wines of Northern Rhone are dry and austere, while the Shiraz of Barossa is rich and fleshy. A variety that lends itself to long aging but can be drunk at any time of its evolution.   Setiono Flaxman Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023