Amon-ra Shiraz 2006, Barossa Valley

The Glaetzer Family

The Glaetzer Family has been a part of the Barossa Valley and its viticulture history since 1888.

After thirty years of winemaking, Colin Glaetzer established the family winery to create wines he's passionate about - limited quantities of benchmark Barossa Valley reds.  The birth of Glaetzer Wines signalled a new era for Colin's family which boasts more than it's fair share of winemakers - Colin, his oenology-trained wife Judith and the couple's three sons, Sam, Ben & Nick.

Today, Ben Glaetzer carries on this winemaking tradition at Glaetzer Wines.  Ben's philosophy  is that great wines are made in the vineyard - a belief in "terroir" and an understanding of the ancient dry-grown vineyards in the renowned Ebenezer district of the Barossa is evident in his wines. With minimal intervention, Ben makes elegant wines which are regarded as classics and unmistakably Barossa.

Name and Label

Amon-Ra is considered to be the king of all gods. The temple of Amon-Ra, now known as the temple of Karnak, was believed to be the first temple to ever plant a mono-culture vineyard to produce wine for the citizens of the temple. Rameses 111 lists 513 vineyards belonging to the temple of Amon-Ra.
The eye on the front of the label is the all-seeing eye of Horus.  The ancient Egyptian eye of Horus or wedjat ("whole one") is a powerful symbol of protection.  The eye of Horus is represented as a figure with six parts, corresponding to the six senses - touch, taste, hearing, thought, sight and smell.  Ben created Amon-Ra Shiraz to appeal to all those senses.

Wine

Now in it's 6th release, the 2006 Amon-Ra shows the hallmark richness of the previous vintages yet takes the aromatic expression to another level. The slower ripening experienced in our Shiraz created parcels of fruit with huge intensity and perfume without any of the hot, jammy characteristics that can become evident with exposed fruit - a character we avoid in all of our wines at all costs. The key to Amon Ra is balancing the extraction rather than maximizing it. The fruit has such expression that we aim to preserve the characteristics of the vineyard rather than dominate them. The similarity has to be drawn between the 04 and 05 wines, the 06 showing the freshness and refinement of the 04 release with the tannin structure and ageability of the 05. It is certainly one of our most favoured releases to this point.

Variety:   100% Dry-grown Barossa Valley Shiraz vines.  30 - 120 years old
Region:   100% Barossa Valley (Northern Ebenezer region),
Fermentation: Fermented in 1 and 2 tonne open fermenters, hand plunged 3 times daily. Completed primary and MLF in oak and then matured for 15 months in oak, matured on lees to maintain fruit profile and animation, minimal SO2. Topped up every 3 weeks.
Oak: 15 months in 100% new oak of which 20% is American and 80% French (70% hogsheads & 30% barriques)
Yield:   0.25 - 1 ton per acre (0.6- 2.4 ton per hectare)

Bottled unfiltered

Alcohol:   14.5%
pH:    3.47
Total Acidity:   7.10g/l
Residual Sugar:  1.2g/l

Amon-Ra Vintages 2001 - 2006

2001 - "The first of four vintages that introduced a style previously not accepted in the Barossa.
            This was finesse and elegance over the old Barossa theme of power and ripeness."
2002 - "A perfect vintage.  Balance flavour, integrated tannin, age worthy."
2003 - "A star in a difficult year.  Tight and angular when young, it is just starting to show some
 generosity.
2004 - "Reflective of '02.  Elegance and finesse, with the innate structure to cellar well."
2005 - "Dark, brooding and confronting.  Has all the ingredients but needs time to evolve."
2006 - "A stunning year.  Since the difficult '03, it continues a run of three standout vintages.
 
2006 Vintage Report

The lead-up to the 2006 Growing season included one of the driest Autumns on record. Late season opening rains were experienced in October and November with the cool, mild conditions extending until January.  A series of heat waves were experienced in late January and early February which meant slow ripening and vegetative growth. Despite the daytime heat, evening temperatures were mild to cool and rainfall was average. Mild climatic conditions continued through February and March and the slightly above average rainfall kept the vines fresh and the fruit ripened slowly and evenly. The stop/start heat/cool of 2005 meant that the wines had intense colour and overt tannin while young; the 2006 wines display slightly less colour and have a refined, almost elegant palate. Similarities can certainly be drawn to the 2004 vintage in terms of approachability and the wines from 2006 have the inherent, balanced structure to enable them to be considered some of the most viable medium to long term cellaring potential that we have so far produced.       Ben Glaetzer, August 2007