Glaetzer Wallace 2008

The Glaetzer Family
The Glaetzer family has been a part of the Barossa Valley and its viticulture history since 1888. After 30 years of winemaking, Colin Glaetzer established the family winery to create wines he's passionate about - limited quantities of benchmark Barossa Valley reds. Today, Ben Glaetzer carries on this winemaking tradition at Glaetzer Wines.

The Label
Wallace is an ancestral name of Colin's wife Judith, whose family hail from the old market town of Cupar in Fife, Scotland. Judith Celtic ancestry is reflected in the three elements of the Wallace symbol - the Celtic cross, thistle and the Celtic knot pattern.

The Wine
Glaetzer Wallace takes on the traditional Barossa Valley blend of shiraz and grenache in a thoroughly modern way. Rich, peppery old-vine shiraz dominates and adds weight, texture and fleshy richness to the palate. Grenache provides complex tannins and fresh acidity to the mix, with luscious red cherry and hints of aromatic spices and anise.

The grenache fruit was powerful and robust in 2008, allowing it to play a strong role in the final blend. The percentage of grenache has dropped to 20% for this release to allow for this intensity.
Wallace combines the best of the two varieties to create a spicy, savoury, food friendly wine.

Region: 100% Barossa Valley (Ebenzer sub-region)
Vinification: With our experience of old, Barossa Valley grenache we know it does not handle oak well. For this reason we ferment and mature the grenache component in stainless steel to keep the freshness and animation of the fruit. The shiraz is matured in 2-3 year old oak barrels.

Variety: 80% Shiraz, 20% Grenache
Age of vines: 60-80 years old
Vineyard yield: 1.5 tons per acre (3.6 tonnes per hectare)
Oak: 80% French, 20% American
Age of barrels: 2-3 years old
Time in barrel: 12 months
Alcohol: 15%
pH: 3.4
Total acidity: 6.6 g/l
Residual sugar: 0.8 g/l
Cellaring potential: 5-8 years

2008 Vintage Report - Ebenezer, Barossa Valley
2008 in the Barossa will be remembered as a difficult year to manage due to a heat spike during vintage. Daily monitoring of fruit quality and flavour development was extremely important. Several different parcels were harvested separately in short breaks before the main heat burst. With smart canopy management during the growing season we have a vintage, albeit small, that we are very proud of. The 2008 vintage shows great purity of fruit and firm but fine tannins, giving great structure and power to the wines.